SPARTAN IVs: The Untold Missions
by Wandering Letters
Summary: A team of SPARTAN IVs have been hand picked to undertake the most difficult missions the UNSC has to offer. With the rise of a renegade Covenant Force, the Prometheans and the astonishing return of the Flood, SPARTANs are needed now more than ever to give mankind hope of survival. Signup story! First chapter contains instructions.
1. Signup Information

**(A/N): Hello Halo fans out there and welcome to my idea!**

**After playing Halo 4 and taking special notice of the Spartan OPs multiplayer episodic content, I thought to myself "Would it be a good idea to write a signup story for this?"**

**Here's my idea:**

**You the readers create your own soldier based on criteria I will show below. I want each soldier to be as unique as possible, meaning I don't want any kind of average Joe/Jane type character. I want creativity being put into this and once I get a few (maybe about 4 or 5 because SPARTAN teams aren't usually bigger than that), I'll write a story with all of them!**

**I don't know if it's a good idea or not but let me know what you guys think! I've been juggling the idea for years but once 343 started the SPARTAN OPs content, it struck home of just how it could work!**

**Anyway, this chapter is pretty much just submission rules to the story and please, if you're interested in having your character in this story, leave your submissions in a review! Let me know what you guys think of my idea and I hope you all enjoy!**

**Just so you know, this story takes place after Halo 4 and the Chief is back home and depending on you guys, I'll alter the story I've got planned out in my head! Anyways, without further ado and rambling, here's the sheet format I'm looking for!**

* * *

**Full Name: **_First and last name required. Middle name isn't necessary but adds some spice to the cake :)_

**Age: **_I want you guys to tell me at what age your character joined the military and the current age they are during my story.__  
_

**Nationality:** _For the love of god, don't make em all American -_- I want variety here!_

**Appearance: **_How does your character look? Scars or bruises? Is he or she attractive or not so much? Be as detailed as possible here and feel free to go overboard (without writing a novel please xD)_

**Height: **_Self explanatory :P_

**Weight:**_ Also self explanatory XP_

**Sex:** _Self explanatory x3_

**Personality:**_ Again feel free to go overboard here because this section is probably what I'm most interested in. Again, no novels please but I'll give you all some leeway in writing a lot in this section (cause it will ultimately determine how your characters are presented after all xD)_

**Brief History:**_ Where was your character from? Was he or she born during the War or before it? Throw in as much as you want here guys cause again it helps me think of how to portray your character._

**Occupation:**_ Yes your character is inevitably gonna become an ass kicking SPARTAN IV but what was he/she doing before that? ODST? High Ranking Officer? Baker?_

**Weapons: **_By this I mean what does your character specialize in and also what is their preferred loadout? I'm gonna follow the usual rules of two weapons only per character with the capacity to use any weapon they pick up just like in the average Halo game. Initially, I want UNSC weapons only but rest assured if they find a Carbine, they'll make good use of it.__  
_

**Unique Skills:**_ This part is what I'm probably gonna dread the most but I'll allow a maximum of TWO unique skills. Unique skills do not count for natural knowledge from things like occupations or experiences. For example, Mark used to be an engineering major and as such knows how things tick. Sarah used to be a pharmacist and as such has knowledge of drugs and how to use them effectively. Unique skills are things that your characters bring to the table that others do not. Now I'm not asking for godlike qualities like aimbot accuracy (as awesome as it sounds xD) but be creative guys!_

**Likes:**_ Is there anything your character enjoys a lot? Food? Hobbies? Make em more human with these!_

**Dislikes: **_Same as above except what pisses em off/scares/makes em cry?_

**Opinion of the other members of the team: **_I'm gonna ask you guys to update this as the story goes along when more characters get in. This is very important because one of my major aims is to show the relationship between the SPARTANs. Do they dislike anyone? Do they admire? You decide!_

**Reason for Joining The UNSC Military:** _Why did your character join the military? Was it out of patriotism? They want to protect someone they love? You decide!_

**Name Of The Team:** _I'll be honest and say that I'm not entirely sure of a nice team name so I'm gonna let you guys throw in ideas for that! I'll be sure to read all your reviews and pick the most popular name (which means that if you guys see another team name that you like submitted by someone else, indicate that you like it). I'd try to come up with one on my own but it's a tad difficult to come up with something that isn't cheesy or already taken xD_

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**Hope you guys like my idea and if so, please let me have some submissions!**


	2. The Courage Of A Wolf

**(A/N): I'm back again! Thanks for the quick submissions and I'm sorry that I haven't been able to formally reply to all of you!**

**While I do appreciate the enthusiasm with all your submissions I do have one question...WHERE DA LADIES AT?!**

**In other words, I'm not looking for a strictly male cast here and as a result of that, I'm going to up the slots so that there'll be a maximum of 6 SPARTANs on the team. I've made one character already and I would totally appreciate if I could get about 2 female submissions (cause really, female SPARTANs DO exist!)**

**This chapter's a little intro and insight into the situation after the Chief's return and how my character gets inducted into the SPARTAN IV program. I'll also take the time to say that as far as the team goes, I'm going to post the roles that need to be filled in terms of military role, such as Sniper etc. If you'd like to get your SPARTAN in a particular role, please remove your review and repost with the modified information. I'll also be posting my character's info so you guys have a nice template to follow (and please follow the format because a lot of submissions seemed to be straight continuous paragraphs which get very tedious to read). I've also added a few things to the sheet which I would definitely find interesting if you guys added to your sheets. You'll see what I mean.**

**Demolitions: Not Filled****  
****Close Range/CQC Specialist: Not Filled****  
****Sniper/Long Range Specialist: Not Filled****  
****Medic: Not Filled****  
****Team Leader: Not Filled****  
****Stealth/Covert Specialist: Not Filled**

**Hope this all helps and I look forward to your responses!**

* * *

**The Courage Of A Wolf**

"What do we have on this one?"  
"Not much ma'am but he looks like a promising recruit,"  
"Let me see his file,"

The woman handed her a small manilla folder and took a seat as she began to skim through it.

* * *

**Full Name: **_Van Reginald Maxter. Nicknamed "**Brother Wolf**" by the other ODST._

**Age: **22

**Nationality:** _Asian_

**Appearance: **_Described as average height and slender but toned build. Spiky jet black hair and blue eyes. Skin just slightly darker than cream. Got his nickname among the ODST by painting a tribal wolf insignia on his ODST helmet and also with his personal weapons._

**Height: **_5'9_

**Weight:**_155 lbs_

**Sex:** _Male_

**Personality:**_Quiet, efficient and possesses bravery without bounds. Is known to always protect the team in whatever way possible and never makes a selfish decision, preferring to sacrifice himself in order to keep the mission going as well as protecting his squadmates. Speaks very little unless first spoken to. Very slow to anger and very patient in general. Is known to be vengeful particularly against the Covenant due to his mother and sister almost dying in the Invasion Of Earth._

**Known History: **_Born during the Human-Covenant War on a small colony on Earth. Was a part of the UNSC at the age of 15 due to having Captain Gerard Maxter being his idol and driving force. Became an ODST at the age of 19, becoming the youngest member of the ODST in history and became a team leader at the age of 20. Decided to join the Covert division of the ODST preferring to not lead teams and instead attempt the stealth missions._

**Occupation: **_ODST Stealth Division Operative_

**Weapon Specialities:** _Shown excellent accuracy and proficiency with all UNSC weaponry but prefers to use the standard UNSC Magnum with a silencer attached with a Dedicated Marksman Rifle also with a silencer attached._

**Unique Skills (through careful observation):**_Has shown the capacity to lead a team in the absence of the assigned leader with great efficiency and results and is more than able to formulate effective plans that usually do not risk squadmates. Bravery allows him to take on missions that the usual soldier would be terrified of attempting and also allows him to think very well even when under otherwise overwhelming pressure._

**Likes: **_Training, Reading, Science, Mediation_

**Dislikes:** _Losing squadmates, ignorant people_

**Known Family:** _Gerard Maxter (father), Sarah Maxter (sister), Farah Maxter (mother)_

**Relationship with other UNSC Personel:** _Very close to his mother and sister who both work in the UNSC Research Division. Does not possess any notable friends but has an outstanding reputation as a soldier amongst the other ODST Personnel._

**Reason for Joining The UNSC Military:** _Undisclosed but assumed to be because of his father_.

* * *

Admiral Margaret Parangosky closed the folder and took a deep breath.

"He's the son of Captain Gerard Maxter?" she asked.  
"Yes ma'am," replied the woman.

The Admiral cleared her throat.

"Send him in now Sarah," she ordered.

The woman nodded as she left the room. Moments later, the soldier entered the room before taking a seat upon the Admiral's request.

"So you're _Brother Wolf_ are you?" she asked.  
"According to my comrades," he replied.

His tone was precisely polite as was his facial expression and body language, something the Admiral immediately took a liking to.

"So you want to join the SPARTAN IV Program?" she asked.  
"Yes ma'am," he replied.

She pushed the folder to him and gestured for him to take a look. After skimming the information, he put the folder down with a disappointed look on his face.

"My reason for joining the UNSC is not what is said here and neither," he replied.  
"Really? Care to fill me in?" she replied.

He closed his eyes briefly before taking a slightly audible breath.

"My reasons for joining the UNSC is because I want to protect our kind and also to serve as best as I can, my father has nothing to do with this," he replied.

She nodded at him.

"Is everything alright with him?" she asked.  
"With all due respect ma'am, I do not wish to speak about him," he replied.

His tone was again polite despite his eyes blatantly betraying it.

"You know the risks and what will happen once you become a SPARTAN don't you?" she asked.  
"Sarah has told me much about the program and I am fully aware of the risks and responsibility," he replied.

She smiled at him.

"You're going to feel unimaginable pain and there's a very small chance that you will be able to move again," she warned.  
"My mother used to tell me something..." he began.

The Admiral looked at him intently, scanning for any sort of hesitation.

"She said that when you want to protect everyone around you, pain and fear aren't the luxury a man would face everyday; they become the largest obstacles a soldier will ever face, even more so than the enemies he will take on and survival, much like how a wolf hunts it's prey when on the doorstep of starvation" he replied.

The look on his face upon his final word told her that he was completely aware of the risks. She smiled once again before holding out her hand to him.

"Welcome to the SPARTAN IV program," she said.

* * *

**Hope you guys get the idea here and please! I'd really appreciate if you follow the format I put above! (with spacing and all so it's nice and easy to read xD).**


	3. Report: Training Officer Gerald Gilbert

**(A/N): Hello fellow Halo fans!**

**Wow. I did not expect submissions to come pouring back in so quickly so I'll cut to the chase here.**

**After rethinking my whole story idea, I decided on a team of 7 for sure but I want 3 female SPARTANs on this team so if possible, throw in some more ladies in the bunch! At the very least I want 2 but 3 is an ideal number. As far as this chapter goes, it's another brief insight into the life of my SPARTAN IV, still some time before the team is decided on. I'm still looking for team names so get cracking!**

**My little cousin gave me an idea for the team name:** **Armitage**

**Let me know what you all think of her idea!**

**Also, do me a favor and tell me which role you want your SPARTAN to fill. I listed all of the available roles in the previous chapter so you'll know. A viewer asked me how to remove reviews so I'll tell you how to right here:**

**Go to your account, click Reviews, click Remove Review and then find the review you wish to remove. The rest is self-explanatory.**

**Hope you're all enjoying yourselves!**

* * *

**SPARTAN IV Report Log #17: Day 34**

**Subject: Van-109**

**Topic: Progress Report**

_The subject has shown unbreakable resolve upon augmentation success. Subject took three days less than the usual individual to completely recover from augmentations and has adapted to the new body very well. Subject is capable of running at speeds of 87 km/h and has been seen lifting a 300 pound weight with little to no effort shown. Subject's reaction times seem to be particularly fast, being able to dodge several non-lethal practice rounds fired with amazing results, being hit by only one of the rounds after having dodged 67 of them. Subject is also shown to be even more intelligent than before, able to quickly decipher and concoct plans in addition to solving complex problems also with precision. The subjects reflexes have reached the point where reaction is instantaneous, as evidenced when the subject was able to complete the laser training course without crossing a single one. Adaptation is shown to be exceptional in comparison to other candidates._

_Combat training has been shown to be the area of expertise with this candidate. The already excellent accuracy has drastically increased with the subject not missing a single shot with the UNSC M395 Dedicated Marksman Rifle and the BR85HB SR Battle Rifle. Has shown incredible accuracy with most UNSC weapons but seems to dislike weapons such as the M45D Tactical Shotgun. The candidate has shown excellent proficiency in CQC, particularly training in martial arts under the watchful eye of Senior Officer Sarah Palmer. Has been shown capable of fighting 8 ODST members extensively trained in CQC with little to no true effort shown without taking a single hit. The subject however did not inflict any extensive damage in combat training to anyone, showing that he possesses much self-control over his newly augmented strength._

_The subject has not bonded with any other candidates apart from Senior Officer Sarah Palmer. As evidenced from the amount of time they spend together, it is comparable to a master and disciple and a big sister to little brother relationship. The subject holds Palmer in high regard, doing anything she asks of him without question and always helping in any possible way. His loyalty has gotten him recognized amongst the other candidates but he has shown no evidence of knowing any of them personally._

_Two days ago, the subject was put to the test in the compulsory SPARTAN IV training course in which he was dropped approximately 60 miles outside of Halberd Base in the swamps. The subject was issued no equipment and was tasked to make it back to Halberd Base within 72 hours. The course is considered difficult due to the very hostile wildlife outside of Halberd Base but despite this, the subject returned in 20 hours, shattering the previous record of 25. The subject did not appear to be fatigued or wounded in any respect, showing that he did indeed find time to rest and also to keep moving despite the unclear bearings presented by the swamps. The subject also found a lost UNSC transponder which detailed information that was lost several years ago when an accident involving a UNSC Pelican crash landed in the area. The transponder contained information pertaining to the surrounding environment that the databases present at Halberd Base did not have._

_The subject is a remarkable example of a top candidate and is expected to be fit for active duty in a matter of weeks._

_Will report more as things develop._

_SPARTAN IV Training Officer Gerald Gilbert_


	4. Roster Information

**(A/N): Now the ladies are rolling in! I like that a lot! I'm posting this chapter to kind of talk to you guys about things concerning the roster and such. Took me a while to do all of this and I'll explain why.**

**It was VERY difficult to to decide the team because a lot of you submitted SPARTANs to fill the same role. A LOT of the submissions were for Stealth and CQC and as a result, I decided to take another SPARTAN to the main team to have an even 8 active members on any missions. I didn't get the diversity I was hoping for (only one submission came in for the Medic and Demolition roles) so this is what I'm going to do.**

** I'm going to take a replacement for each role to compensate for the numerous submissions (it really seems like a waste to not use as many of the characters as possible). For every role specified, I filled in the main character and the one who will replace him/her (should they get injured or even killed depending on how the story goes). If you'd like your character to be a substitute for a role, let me know in any way you can (preferably a review after having removed the old one if you're changing your current character). Two roles however are locked in because these are the only two people who gave in a role that had no competition and will feature no replacement opportunity. Any SPARTAN who does not have a role specified does not have a replacement.**

**I'd also like to take the opportunity to tell you guys the most important thing about this story: relationships. If any of you have read my work, you'd know that I really take the time to portray characters on the emotional level. That being said, if any of you wish for your characters to have romantic interests, feel free to let me know. If you'd like any sort of specific relationship to take place, talk amongst yourselves or me if you'd like something with my character and I'll see what I can do to portray it. This story is really aimed at bringing out the day to day life of a SPARTAN in addition to how they are off the battlefield (because that's never really delved into much).**

**I also decided to change up the roles one more time (don't worry this is the final draft of the roles). There are a total of 6 roles:**

**Long Range/Sniper  
Close Range/CQC Specialist  
Tech Specialist (which includes vehicle expertise)  
Medic  
Stealth/Covert Specialist  
Demolition Expert**

* * *

**I removed team leader as a role because I thought of a great idea. At some point in the story, I'll post a poll and you guys vote as to who should be the leader! This is to keep in the spirit of how Master Chief was considered the leader of all SPARTANs because of his exploits. That being said, you guys will obviously have to read everyone's sheet (everyone involved in the story anyway) so you can vote. It's unfair to vote for your own character so please don't do that xD**

**With the roles at 6 and the active team being 8, it means two SPARTANs will not have a replacement and are forever a part of the main team no matter what. These two SPARTANs are ones that don't have a defined role and are more like a Jack/Jane of all trades if you will. In addition, these two characters have the capacity to fill multiple roles in a hitch (if a character should go down and they are not back at base to get the replacement). All other SPARTANs will make cameo appearances.**

* * *

**Now then, here's the decided roster:**

**Van Reginald Maxter- No Role Specified, No Replacement.  
**

**Corey "The Joker" Levesque- Close Range/CQC Specialist, will be replaced by Baekhyun Matthew "Ben" Hwang where necessary.**

**Abigail "Demon" Derrick- Demolitions (Locked Role).**

**Crystal Harton- Medic (Locked Role).**

**Kyle 'Jason' Billingston- No Role Specified, No Replacement.**

**Richard Howard Robertson- Tech Specialist, will be replaced by Joshua Soong where necessary.**

**Claire "Wraith" Karson- Stealth/Covert Specialist, ****will be replaced by Mikhail Dekachovic where necessary.**

******Selina Warren- Long Range/Sniper, will be replaced by Anthony "Archer" Kingston where necessary.**

* * *

******If you character did not appear here, rest assured that they will be making cameo appearances. My next order of business is the team name. I still have no team name and it would be awesome if you guys could answer the poll I'll post on my profile concerning the team name. I handpicked names from both you guys and others so get cracking on that!**

******Last but not least, I was asked a question about armor configurations so I'll make it nice and simple. PM me your character's Armor configuration in addition to their SPARTAN number tag. Nice and easy and stress free.**

******Thanks for taking the time to read this and I await your responses!**

******Wandering Letters.**


	5. Echelon Team

**(A/N): Let's get this story started shall we? Thank you all for your enthusiastic submissions and I do hope you enjoy what I've written for you all to see.**

**Any questions, comments, ideas and such, feel free to leave me a PM! I encourage communication because you guys are just as much of the writer of this story as I am!**

**Also I apologize about the previous chapter and if I upset anyone with my locked roles; it seemed really unfair to wait for more submissions for those roles when everyone else already made someone specifically for it. Once I get all the info from you guys that I asked for, I'll update the Roster Information chapter to reflect everything about your SPARTAN IV.**

**Anyways, let's get this show on the road!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Halo but if I did, you can bet your ass I'd bring Cortana back and make the Arbiter fist bump the Chief.**

* * *

**Echelon Team**

**Halberd Base- Training Room**

_"All unassigned SPARTAN IVs please make your way to the briefing chamber!"_

A heavy breath followed as he released the pull up bar and began to drink some water.

"Sounds like mom wants to do team assignments, you're finally gonna get your chance Van,"

He turned to see his best friend, Sarah Palmer smiling at him.

"Looks that way," he replied.  
"Think you're ready for active duty?" she asked.

He became silent as he lifted his bag and walked towards his room with her in tow all the while getting teased by the senior officer about the very process he was most interested in: Team Assignment. Ever since he became a SPARTAN IV, Van Reginald Maxter was very anxious to begin real service for the UNSC but was required to spend a lot of time learning everything and passing an uncountable number of tests in order to be cleared for missions. Now seemed like the time to find out if he could really start to serve the human race...

"I'm guess so..." he replied solemnly.

She smiled proudly at her disciple as they entered his room. Sarah took a seat on his bed as he stepped into the shower. Van had to share a moderately sized room with another SPARTAN, Earl-678. Earl was assigned to a UNSC Frigate and wasn't due back for at least two weeks which allowed him to have this room all to himself, something he was glad for considering Earl had such a loud snore. One of the biggest changes to the SPARTAN program was the fact that instead of singular rooms, all candidates had to share rooms with others which was meant to encourage interaction and also bonding should they ever end up in the same team or assigned to the same mission.

Earl always had a way of teasing the relationship Sarah and Van had, thinking that his roommate had some delusional crush on her when in reality she ended up, their relationship was comparable to that of a big sister to a little brother and also a master to disciple. Van however honestly couldn't deny that she was an attractive woman despite her size and masculine attitude towards her peers. He returned from the shower and ensured he was properly attired before she led him to the briefing chamber.

* * *

**Halberd Base- Briefing Chamber**

Van was astonished to see least 50 other SPARTAN IVs sitting down in an arranged set of chairs. He looked to his friend as she gestured him to take a seat.

"They need me to speak so I'll talk to you later ok?" she said.

Van nodded at her before she ruffled his spiky hair with her fist. She walked away as he took a seat at the back. He watched the Admiral and Sarah converse for a a few minutes until the woman all the SPARTANs affectionately called "mom" stepped up to the podium.

"I've called you all here today to inform you of the situation at hand," said the Admiral.

To everyone's utter astonishment, John-117 walked into the room almost as if her sentence was his cue. The legendary SPARTAN II was a hero and idol to many of the individuals who were enrolled in the program and Van knew that his presence could only indicate that things were dire.

"I'll let John fill you in on the details," she said.

She stepped away from the podium as the soldier stood on it, his MJOLINIR Mark-II Armor completely repaired and polished. Van admired the older style of armor over the new generation which looked more like a wetsuit than actual armor. The Master Chief cleared his throat before leaning towards the microphone.

"We have new enemies to deal with," he began.

He paused for a brief moment.

"One of our deepest fears has been realized, the war with the Covenant is not over and we now have the Prometheans to contend with," he continued.

Chatter began to erupt amongst everyone in the room all, especially about the Covenant considering the alliance humanity made with the Sanghelli.

"A renegade Covenant faction still exists and they're numerous and they want nothing more than to destroy humanity," he said.  
"The Promethean leader, The Didact is still alive and we know he's mustering his forces in preparation of another invasion of Earth," he continued.

Chatter became louder as Van watched the legendary soldier raise his hand in an attempt to quell the uproar.

"The Prometheans are unlike anything we've ever faced before and I consider myself lucky to be alive right now...others were not so lucky," he said.

Van knew that he was referring to Cortana, his beloved A.I companion. Sarah filled him in on everything and Van knew that it was painful for the SPARTAN-II to even mention the idea that she's now gone.

"They can be defeated however and I know I will not rest until this threat has passed," he said.

His words sparked an intense inferno of inspiration amongst the SPARTAN-IVs. The Master Chief stepped aside as the Admiral stepped up once more.

"The SPARTAN-IV program has given you the tools you need protect and fight for humanity and now's the time for you all to fulfill that duty, now more than ever the SPARTANs are needed to give humanity hope for survival," she explained.

She stepped aside as Sarah took her place.

"You will be assigned into teams and stationed about UNSC Frigates across the galaxy, it is your duty to undertake every mission assigned by their respective captains and to protect the ships at all costs," she explained.

Sarah then began to call a list of names. Person by person, the room began to empty as 41 SPARTAN names were called and assigned to respective UNSC Frigates. Van looked around to see that 7 others remained. After some chatter amongst the three high-ranking officers, the Admiral gestured the 8 of them over to her.

"You eight come with me," she said.

The SPARTANs followed her out of the room as she led them to a new building outside of the barracks in which they were used to sleeping. In fact, they rarely ever saw much more than the barracks considering the amount of training and classes they were required to attend everyday.

* * *

**Twenty Minutes Later **

**Halberd Base- Echelon Team's Residential Area**

The eight SPARTAN-IVs entered the building as Sarah and the Admiral turned to face them.

"I have brought you all here because this is where you all will be staying from now on," she said.  
"For what reason may I ask ma'am?"

A man with dirty blonde hair and icy blue eyes leaned against a wall and looked at the Admiral with a curious look.

"Because you all are the best of the best of this year's batch of SPARTAN IVs and quite frankly, some of the best we've ever trained here at Halberd base," she replied.

They continued to look at the woman they all referred to as "mom". Van immediately thought back to conversations he had with Sarah; she always spoke about the need of an elite team that was capable of handling many of the missions without too much external support from the UNSC in order to conserve resources. SPARTAN IVs were also needed to take on missions that ODSTs could only dream of accomplishing.

"You 8 are now the members of Echelon Team, you will be briefed on your first mission 48 hours from now," she said.  
"I'm going to be in charge of everything concerning this team as far as assignments go," said Sarah.

Van was glad that he would be able to stay in contact with his friend and sighed in relief silently. The Admiral nodded at Sarah before taking her leave.

"So we're the Spec Ops team the UNSC needs?"

Sarah smiled.

"Yes Corey, you guys are the best we've ever trained and mom really thinks you all can handle what's going to be asked of you," she replied.

Corey smiled brightly and pumped a fist into the air.

"Bout time we got some action," he said.

Van sat down in a lounge chair and looked out the window.

"So why do we have so many girls in our team? Do the guys suck that badly?"

Sarah rolled her eyes as she turned to another male SPARTAN.

"Rick you should know by now that we picked you all based on your performances and also potential chemistry," she replied.  
"Guess we do suck then huh?" he chuckled.

Sarah rolled her eyes as another woman smacked him on the shoulder.

"Sheesh Abby I was only kidding," said Rick with a pout.  
"There's a time and place for everything and this ain't the time to be an idiot," she said.

Van looked at her and his eyes widened slightly. The female SPARTAN-IV known to everyone as "Demon" was the jewel of the population; she was the most attractive woman in the lineup. Shoulder length golden hair, curves than went on for days and grey eyes all wrapped up together in that package was the object of almost every male SPARTAN's affections. Everyone was well aware of Rick's womanizing tendencies and it was a commonly known fact that Abby was the one woman who he could not get into his bed.

"Can you guys shut it already? You bicker like husband and wife and it's irritating,"

Abby looked at the man with short black hair. His accent was heavily British.

"Well who bit you in the ass this morning Kyle?" she asked.

Kyle snorted and turned away as he sat across from Van, ignoring the woman's words.

"Can't we all just get along? We're gonna be working together on hard missions and the last thing I want to do is let down mom,"

A woman with short red hair and a light Irish accent leaned off the counter after finishing a bottled water.

"Good to see someone wants us to work together,"

Another woman with crimson, shoulder length hair found a seat in the corner of the room beside the wall sized window.

"You two never change do you?" asked Sarah.

Van knew the two women as Crystal and Claire. Claire was very well known for her uncanny ability to appear out of nowhere and Crystal was known for her excellent skills with medical equipment and procedures, something that wasn't delved into much amongst the lineup.

"So what're we going to do now?"

Sarah turned to a dark skinned woman who stood beside her.

"Take a seat Selina," she said.

Sarah gestured everyone to sit down as she took out a device. After pressing a few buttons, a large hologram appeared.

"This device has everything we know about all of you and this is the time for me to assign all of you the roles of the team," she said.

Van looked at the hologram as it cycled to Corey.

"Corey, you're the best we've got as far as getting up in the face so it's needless to say that you're in charge of CQC," she said.

Corey smiled and nodded at her. The information revealed everything about him that the SPARTANs didn't know before.

"I didn't know you knew how to use Energy Swords," said Rick.  
"I have one in my room as a souvenir," he replied.

Rick chuckled and fist bumped the dirty blonde man.

"So vengeance is why you joined the UNSC huh? I heard about the New Constantinople raid...sorry about your family mate," said Kyle.

Corey raised a hand.

"It's all good, as long as I get to kick some Covenant ass I'm happy," he said.

Sarah smiled as she cycled to the next person, Abigail. The SPARTANs learned more about her, including her uncanny ability to make anything into an explosive.

"Take it you aced the shit outta Chemistry?" asked Corey.  
"Highest in the class," she replied.

Van noticed that her brother was killed on Reach but kept silent, thinking it would be better to speak to her alone when he knows her better.

"Abby, needless to say you're gonna be in charge of all things that go boom," said Sarah.

She clapped her hands and rubbed them together while snickering. The next SPARTAN shown was Rick. Known as Richard Howard Robertson in his previous life as a store clerk and hacker, he was one of the volunteers who joined because he had no choice; he was caught red handed with crimes. Despite his tendency for trouble, every SPARTAN knew that he was a good man though it was rather irritating to the female population that he tried to bed all of them.

"Rick as you can imagine is going to be our Tech Specialist," said Sarah.  
"Sweet," he replied.  
"So that's what you did to get stuck here! You hacked their database!" said Selina.  
"Yeah...got curious," he replied.

The hologram moved to Selina. She wasn't a well known SPARTAN but her performance in guerrilla warfare in addition to her accuracy with a rifle was a well known fact to the training officers.

"Selina, your expertise in using the environment and also that deadeye means that you're gonna be the one holding the sniper rifle," said Sarah.

Selina smiled.

"Guess all that paintball paid off eh?" said Kyle.

The hologram moved to Claire. Known to everyone as Wraith, Claire was undoubtedly the best at staying hidden and striking when the time was perfect. Claire also had the distinction of being a SPARTAN-III, giving her much more experience than the majority of her team. She was known to have gotten some of the SPARTAN-II augmentations done and as a result, Claire had an immense advantage when it came to her performance in the program.

"Claire, you make a ninja look like an amateur so consider yourself the shadow of the team," said Sarah.

Claire smiled briefly before turning away, looking once again at the trees outside. No one seemed to want to comment on anything they read. The hologram then turned to Crystal. Crystal was known for her medical expertise and despite her rather hot-headed disposition, she was a kind soul. She was recognized for her drive to never leave a teammate behind.

"Crystal, you're gonna be the one who patches up everything because you make some of our doctors here look like schoolkids," said Sarah.

The Irish woman smiled at Sarah's compliment.

"So you mean to tell me that this hot-head is gonna be the one stitching me up? I'll take my chances with bio-foam," said Rick.

Corey fist bumped Rick, much to Crystal's chagrin. The hologram turned to Kyle. There wasn't anything truly exceptional that stood out in his record but he was a very well balanced soldier, good at just about everything he tried.

"So what's he gonna be doing?" asked Corey.  
"He's gonna be one of those guys who can do anything," said Sarah.

Kyle smiled and nodded at her.

The final SPARTAN to be looked at was Van. Van still had not spoken even a single word since they got together for the bonding session. Upon reading everything about him, everyone turned to face him.

"Come on Van, lighten up mate," said Kyle.

Van turned to him with an icy stare. He didn't know Kyle very well but he respected him. Van was a former ODST Stealth Division Captain and was the youngest member of the ODST in humanity's history, making him very well known for his accomplishments. He was however distant from just about everyone with the exception of Sarah who was the only friend he had.

"Van's the other one who's a jack of all trades," said Sarah.  
"Who bit you in the ass?" asked Corey.

Van turned away, ignoring Corey's wise crack.

"Your dad was Gerard Maxter?" asked Claire.

Everyone was astonished to see that Claire had turned to face him, showing slight interest. Van looked at her before closing his eyes.

"Yes he was," he replied.

Sarah immediately held up a hand outside of his peripheral vision, asking the SPARTANs to not press further. Crystal however didn't listen.

"What's up with him? He was the captain of the _UNSC Barbaros_ wasn't he?" she asked.

Sarah desperately tried to get Crystal to stop talking but before she could continue, Van was already in front of Crystal giving her a very cold glare.

"Don't mention that name around me ever again," he said.

His tone was as cold as sub-zero temperatures and even Sarah felt a chill move down her spine. Crystal immediately began to flare up.

"Don't threaten me pretty boy," she growled.

He wasn't the least bit fazed by her retort. She attempted to slap him across the cheek but his hand shot up before anyone could even see. He didn't hurt her but held her hand firmly, never once removing the glare from her eyes.

"Van that's enough," said Sarah.  
"Come on mate," said Kyle.

Kyle was already up and behind him, trying to pull him away from the Irish woman. Van closed his eyes and released her hand as he walked off into another part of the house. Sarah sighed deeply.

"What's his problem?" asked Abby.  
"Long story...believe me, it took him nearly two years to fill me in on everything," said Sarah.

She closed the device as she rose to her feet.

"All of you get some rest because tomorrow you're all taking a tour of the military division of these headquarters," she said.

Everyone nodded respectfully to her as she took her leave.

* * *

**Later That Night**

"Looks like we're roommates," said Kyle.

Van nodded as he returned to his book. Kyle placed all of his bags into the large closet.

"Can I ask what got into you earlier?" he asked.

He received a cold glare in response and he raised his hands.

"Alright no need to get testy," he said.  
"Kyle? I got your book,"

He turned to see Abigail at the door holding a book.

"Thanks for letting me borrow it," she said.  
"No problem my dear," he said.

Kyle was the eldest member of the team and during the course of the day, Abigail already began to see him as an older brother. She glanced briefly at Van.

"We have to get up at 7 AM sharp to head for the military division," she said.  
"You know we'll be up," said Kyle.

She nodded as she took her leave.

"That woman might as well be a model," said Kyle.

He looked to Van for approval. To his astonishment, the SPARTAN smiled slightly and nodded.

"Why can't you be more like that around everyone else?" asked Kyle.  
"It's not in my nature to be happy go lucky like Corey or you," said Van.

Kyle rolled his eyes as he doused the lights and climbed into bed.

"See you in the morning mate," he said.

Van nodded as he turned his back to him and laying down.

_"I miss you...Mom..."_ he whispered to himself.


	6. The Xilos System

**(A/N): Hello again! Next chapter up in merely a day? Yeah. I do that sometimes, especially since this story has been so well received. Thanks for all the support and thanks for doing that vote! (Lord knows it was difficult to come up with the team name).**

**Disclaimer: I don't Halo but if I did, Miranda Keyes would not have died and you can bet your ass that the Flood would still be around as the main villains of the series.**

* * *

**The Xilos System**

**Halberd Base- Echelon Team's Military Division**

"_Holy shit..._"

Corey eyed the gigantic ship that sat docked in the hangar. While it wasn't as big as the traditional UNSC Frigate, it was more than large enough to host a staff of 50 individuals with ample room for all.

"We're gonna be using that?" asked Claire.

Sarah smiled at them.

"This is the UNSC _Eagle's Shadow _," said Sarah.

Rick excitedly made his way to the console beside the ship and frantically typed away until a hologram detailing blueprints appeared.

"This thing has enough rooms for 50 people to live in and enough supplies to last several lifetimes," he said.  
"And she's pretty fast too," said Sarah as she pointed to the engines.

The engines were the size of a bus and Rick could only imagine how fast it would be able to go if the throttle was maxed out. He continued to stare at the screen, delving into the complicated numbers and specs on the hologram. As usual, no one else joined him though Kyle and Van briefly glanced before losing interest.

"I'm also here to inform you of your reserve team," said Sarah.  
"What do you mean by that?" asked Abigail.

Sarah cleared her throat.

"The missions we will be sending you on are extremely dangerous and we don't expect that all of you will be able to come out of every one of them unscathed so we took the liberty of selecting some individuals who can temporarily replace you should you be unfit for duty from an injury or sickness," said Sarah.  
"Where are they now?" asked Selina.  
"Training at the SPARTAN facility, they aren't quite ready yet but we expect them to be able to fulfill their respective roles to an acceptable extent should one of you be unable to," said Sarah.

Kyle looked at Van who was staring blankly at the ship. His fist clenched as he turned away.

"Your assignment briefing will be in one hour, I'd advise you all to grab your gear and head for the briefing room," said Sarah.

Everyone respectfully saluted her as she walked over to Van.

"Can we talk for a minute?" she asked.

He wordlessly followed her away from the rest of the team. He barely got time to question her before she smacked him in the head.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she growled.

He said nothing, keeping his gaze fixated on her.

"These people are going to be the ones you fight and die with and your attitude is shitty," she growled.  
"Do you really think I'm going to allow them to speak about my father?" he replied.

His tone was even icier than the day he almost fought with Crystal. Sarah knew what he was capable of and knew that she didn't want to make him angrier.

"I know your father made mistakes during his lifetime Van...but you can't have a team like this and not speak to any of them; I'm not going to be around all the time," she said.

He turned to his team, noticing Corey and Rick as usual being idiots and making the others laugh. Even Claire, the silent one was exhibiting signs of amusement with her slight smile. It wasn't long before Kyle joined in, making the seven of them an laughing uproar.

"Give them a chance Van...for me?" she asked.

He turned back to face her and sighed as he saw the very face she made to make him agree to just about everything. She used this trick on him to allow her to take the food he cooked in his room, to mess around with his customized weapons and she was especially infamous for using this face to get him to do whatever she wanted.

"I'll give them a chance...but don't get your hopes up," he said.

He was immediately given a hug to which he awkwardly wrapped an arm around her back. After a brief moment, Sarah took her leave as he returned to the team.

"You mean to tell me that you were the one who spread that tape about Jack and Reggie?" asked Abigail.

Rick snickered mischievously.

"He was asking for it; the bastard was an asshole in every way so it's only fair he gets his just desserts," he replied.

Kyle smiled as he turned to Van who had taken a seat on a crate. He took a seat beside him.

"Still gonna be the silent type are ya?" he asked.

Crystal approached them, rubbing the back of her arm awkwardly.

"I'm sorry for pressing into your personal life," she said.

Kyle looked astonished that she did that and was even more astonished when Van stood up and held out a hand.

"Clean slate," he said.

Crystal smiled at him before shaking his hand.

"So we have to gear up...how about a trip to the armory?" said Corey.  
"Sounds like a plan mate," said Kyle.

The 8 SPARTANs made their way towards the armory they had only seen the outside of during yesterday's tour.

* * *

**Halberd Base- Echelon Team's Armory**

"You..._have got_ to be shitting me," said Corey.

The word armory was an understatement to describe the inside of this room. It looked like a room where weapons where manufactured for war. Benches with tools sat around the room and shelves upon shelves of weapons were organized according to type. Rick and Corey already moved towards the shotgun shelf. Claire and Abigail moved towards the sniper rifles along with Selina. Kyle and Van found their way towards the battle rifles while Crystal moved towards the magnums. Kyle smiled.

"There's enough stuff here to make every weapon seem like you made it yourself," said Kyle.

Van wordlessly gazed at the DMRs before selecting one in particular. After eyeing it carefully, he turned to the door to the shooting range.

"Gonna take it for a whirl are ya?" asked Kyle.

Van nodded as he opened the door and positioned himself in a booth. Kyle took one for himself and stood in the booth next to his. Kyle watched as Van showcased his well known accuracy. Even from his days as an ODST, Van's accuracy was noted to be exceptional and the SPARTAN-IV augmentations only enhanced what was already an incredible skill. He watched as Van almost effortlessly fired headshot after headshot until the magazine finished. Within three seconds, Van had already reloaded the rifle and emptied it again not even ten seconds after. Van released an audible breath as he lowered the gun.

"Guess you're as sharp as ever," said Kyle.  
"This rifle's special," said Van.

He proceeded to carry it to the workbench and take it apart, once again in very little time.

"The barrel on this rifle isn't like the rest of them because it's slightly longer and larger and the grip's softer than usual," he said.

He proceeded to thoroughly clean the rifle and put it back together within a mere ten minutes. Kyle continued to look on in awe as Van attached a silencer to the barrel and replaced the grip with a firmer material.

"This one is definitely mine," he said.

He fastened the rifle across his back before moving to search for a backup. Abigail soon approached the bench herself.

"I guess I have to modify this one like my old one back in the barracks, guess it was due for a change anyway," she said.

Kyle noticed her place a Railgun on the bench. He watched as she set to work, easily tweaking the various mechanisms inside of the gun until she was satisfied and put it back together.

"What exactly did you do?" asked Kyle.  
"I overclocked the charger so it fires shots that are about 40% more destructive though it drains the battery faster," she replied.  
"You did all of that in ten minutes?" he asked.  
"I did it before in about six but this model's newer than the one I have back at the barracks," she replied with a shrug.

She also carved her SPARTAN Tag on the handle of the gun before smiling at Kyle.

"You're a jack of all trades but it looks like Van's found his calling, aren't you gonna find yours?" she asked.

Kyle attempted to retort until Rick cut into the conversation.

"Oh...same bench as over there so I guess I came here for no reason," he said with a pout.

He had already fastened a Battle Rifle to his back and carried a SAW in his hands.

"This is _SWEET_!"

The three SPARTANs turned to see Corey holding his signature loadout of a Shotgun and Battle Rifle, or "Shottie BR" has he called it. They were sure he tweaked everything to his liking considering that he was the first one to rush off and the grin on his face only added to the belief.

"Are we ready to leave now?" asked Claire.

She leaned against the door out of the room, already having her SRS99-S5 AM Sniper Rifle on her back with two pistols holstered on either side of her armor. Selina took her usual loadout of a Sniper Rifle and a magnum but she didn't seem to have made any modifications. Crystal was the only individual who didn't take a rifle of any kind, instead choosing a Shotgun and a Magnum knowing full well that she wouldn't be the one to pick off enemies from a distance.

Everyone else was ready and turned to see Van back in the shooting range. They moved closer and watched him once again empty a magazine with perfect accuracy. Van selected an Assault Rifle and fired it in short controlled bursts to excellent effect, cleaving each target's head off easily. After finishing a second magazine and reloading once again at his unreal speed, he turned to leave. Upon noticing the entire team watching him, he stared blankly at them.

"How come you're not the marksman?" asked Rick.  
"With accuracy like that it really makes me wonder how the hell you didn't end up in Selina's position," said Corey.

Claire looked at him.

"I've never seen someone reload a gun that quickly and systematically," she said, her voice just a few decibels higher than a loud whisper.  
"Same here," said Abigail.

Van holstered the rifle on his body before taking a pistol from the shelf and putting it in the holster on his leg, seemingly unfazed by their compliments. Before leaving, he turned to his team.

"Thank you," he said.

He then gestured for them to follow suit which they did with a mostly mutual smile.

* * *

**Echelon Team Headquarters- Briefing Room**

"Well you guys took your sweet time," said Sarah.

She noticed the lightened air around them and that Van no longer walked away from them but was now beside Kyle and Abigail, listening to them speak with genuine interest. She smiled to herself before clearing her throat and pressing a button on a remote she held in her hand. A large hologram detailing a foreign solar system.

"This is the Xilos System, scans and ship reports indicate that the renegade Covenant have set up an outpost on the planet Zerios, we have no idea why this outpost is there considering there is no Covenant presence in this system nor any real signs of life," said Sarah.

She clicked the remote again, causing the hologram to show a satellite feed of the outpost. The number of troops stationed all around the perimeter indicated that this outpost was very important.

"Your mission is to infiltrate the outpost and find out what they're up to and if it's something major, put an end to it," said Sarah.  
"How long will it take us to reach the system?" asked Rick.  
"Two days," she replied.

He nodded.

"The crew has already been briefed and the ship's staff has already prepped the _Eagle's Shadow_ for launch," she said.

Everyone was astonished to see Sarah reach for her helmet and weapon.

"The Admiral has ordered me to accompany you all on this mission so I'll be bunking with one of you," said Sarah.

Corey turned to Van and winked before elbowing him in the ribs. Rick caught on and snickered lightly to himself. Van rolled his eyes.

"There are five bedrooms aboard the ship that are available for use so decide amongst yourselves who goes where," said Sarah.

Van already knew that he had no say in the matter whenever Sarah wanted to sleep in a room; he'd might as well hang a neon sign above the bed that said **"Sarah's Property"**.

"We're to leave immediately so I suggest we get going," she said.

With a mutual salute, Echelon Team made their way to the frigate. Within minutes, the Frigate took off into the sky and a few minutes more, was out of orbit. The SPARTANs gathered on the bridge as the head pilot turned around in his large chair.

"Five seconds to hyperspace jump," he said.

He immediately caught sight of the chosen eight and whistled.

"A lotta ladies this time huh?" he said with a snicker.  
"Cut it out Harold and get this thing going," said Sarah.

The man raised his hands in defeat.

"Okay princess," he replied.

He turned around and quickly manipulated the holographic interface.

"3...2...1..." he said.

With the push of a button, everything suddenly became a swift beam of white.

* * *

**At this point, I'd really love if you all could tell me the opinions of others as the two day waiting period is meant for specific focus on bonding. This means if you all want anyone to get close in particular (even romantically interested), indicate it to me in a PM and I'll do my best.**


	7. The Worst Call

**(A/N): I'm so glad you all are enjoying the story so far. I will give you a fair warning right now.**

**Prepare. For. EMOTIONS!**

**A lot of you have been asking me...what's Van's deal?**

**Time to answer that! Also, this chapter's gonna probably be the longest one I've ever written for any story that isn't a one-shot. Why? Cause like I said before, this chapter's ALL ABOUT the bonding.**

**Now then...PREPARE FOR THE FEELS!**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Halo but if I did, Noble Team would've survived and the survival mission at the end of Reach would be all of them fighting their way towards an escape!**

* * *

**The Worst Call**

**The UNSC _Eagle's Shadow_- Gymnasium  
**

"How the hell are you so fast?"

Claire snickered softly to herself as she continued to dodge her teammate in their friendly sparring match. Corey had been trying to land a hit on her for the past ten minutes and much to his chagrin, he was unable to lay a hand on the swift sniper. Rick chuckled loudly, causing Corey to cut him a glare. Kyle folded his arms and chuckled.

"Sounds like you're mad there aren't ya?" asked Kyle.

Corey ignored his words and continued to try and hit Claire. She astonishingly ducked past his arm before proceeding to throw him through the air a good ten feet before he hit the ground. She then flicked her hair out of her field of vision.

"You're the best at CQC but you absolutely suck at fighting someone just as good as you," she said.

Corey knew he was better than she was but she was just too fast for him to get his hands on. He then conceded, realizing that speed really is sometimes better than force and skill.

Claire then joined Crystal on the benches as the next pair stepped up to spar, Rick and Van. Van looked at his teammate before taking a barely audible breath and letting it out. Rick put up his fists as Van clenched his. Rick swiftly came at him but Van easily dodged every blow he tried to land. Everyone noticed that Van hadn't yet taken a stance to defend himself and that Rick pre-emptively began the fight. Van grabbed his arm and threw him aside before stepping back. Rick didn't lose his balance as he turned to face his sparring partner who had now taken a stance. Everyone recognized the stance as the relaxed form of Tai Chi. Kyle's mouth turned to an O and Corey smiled; he had a great admiration for anyone who studied martial arts, especially one that didn't require the user to be immensely strong to be effective. Rick came at Van again but unlike before, the results were completely opposite.

Rick struggled to evade Van's punches and palm thrusts until he caught an opening and fired a clothesline. Van leaned back, allowing the arm to pass over him harmlessly before spinning and firing a kick. Rick barely managed to catch his foot with his left hand but was not prepared for Van to bring his other leg up to his chin, flipping backwards and freeing his other foot while sending Rick onto his ass. He rose to his feet again, surprised that Van didn't exert enough force to bust his lip open. Van again took his relaxed stance, his face completely devoid of any emotion apart from focus. Rick once again attacked and managed to clip Van in the chest with a swift punch. Van sucked in a heavy breath before retaliating with a palm thrust, once again sending Rick a distance away albeit not on his ass as before. Rick took a deep breath.

"How the heck isn't Rick down for the count yet? He just took two hits that should've put him under," said Corey.

Kyle looked at Van before realizing his intent.

"Van's not fighting to win, he's fighting because that's how he analyzes others," said Kyle.  
"How do you know?" asked Selina.

Kyle cleared his throat.

"ODST troops always have sparring sessions and considering Van met Sarah when he was an ODST, he must've fought her at least once especially since she's a SPARTAN which makes the fight even more difficult," said Kyle.  
"How do you know?" asked Abigail.  
"Because I told him,"

Everyone turned to see Sarah Palmer walking towards them and taking a seat beside them.

"I fought Van two weeks after I met him and I kicked his ass...though he actually managed to keep me on the ropes," she said.  
"How? You were much faster and stronger than he was," said Crystal in disbelief.

Sarah cleared her throat.

"He's not the kind of person who wins a fight because he's faster or stronger because of the style he uses: Tai Chi is using the opponent's strengths against him as well as taking advantage of his weaknesses," explained Sarah.  
"So he used your own strength and speed against you?" she asked.  
"Exactly and he was really smart about it too," she said.

She chuckled softly upon recalling the memories.

"I threw a punch and he dodged it just in time to make me hit the wall behind him and it got stuck in there which pretty much gave him free hits," she said.

The six SPARTANs looked at their teammates fight once more though Sarah noticed Van being much more passive in his fighting than he usually was.

"Is that all you're gonna do Maxter? Dodge and hit back once every century?" growled Rick.  
"This is friendly sparring and training, not a fight to the death," replied Van.  
"What does it take for you to go all out! We're not gonna get any better if you keep being a pussy!" growled Rick again.

Van rolled his eyes.

"I bet your dad would hate to see you being like this especially as a part of Echelon Team," said Rick.

Van's eyes immediately shot open and locked onto Rick like a targeting laser. Sarah jumped to her feet.

"Rick! Enough!" she said.

Rick ignored her words.

"You're making me look like an idiot Maxter so start fighting for real!" growled Rick.

He barely got time to finish the sentence as a foot met his chest. Rick stumbled back and clipped Van in the stomach but unlike before, Van did not cringe or stop his assault. He absorbed the blow and threw Rick to the ground before holding his arm in an agonizingly painful armbar. In the position he was in, it would only take a little more pressure to snap his arm like a twig. Rick grunted in pain. No one noticed Sarah dash across the floor and grab onto Van.

"Van! Stop! Please!" she pleaded.

Kyle got up and managed to pull the enraged SPARTAN off of his teammate with great difficulty. Rick looked at Van with astonishment; he had never fought someone who had turned the tables that quickly in addition to withstanding such a hard punch without flinching. Van closed his eyes before shaking off Sarah and Kyle's grip. He wordlessly left the room.

"What the hell is wrong with you Rick?" growled Kyle.

Rick kept silent as he turned to Sarah.

"What's his problem?" asked Rick.

She closed her eyes briefly before taking a breath.

"The seven of you meet me in my office in thirty minutes, do not tell Van where you're going," she said.

She left the room.

* * *

**The UNSC _Eagle's Shadow_- Sarah's Office**

"Thank you all for coming," she said as she closed her door.

She proceeded to douse the lights as she pressed a button, causing her desk to project a hologram.

"You're all aware of the UNSC _Barbaros_ and all of the missions it undertook right?" asked Sarah.

A few heads nodded while the others shook. She sighed softly before bringing up a biography.

"Captain Gerard Maxter was the one in charge of it and the missions he undertook were nothing less that legendary, in fact they were some of the biggest victories the UNSC had gotten over the Covenant and even the Flood once it reared it's ugly head," said Sarah.  
"I still don't see how this makes Van such an asshole," said Corey.

Rick nodded in agreement but Sarah raised her remote once more and clicked it, causing the hologram to project a mission report.

"One of his missions was to travel to the planet Noveria and fight back the Covenant troops that had taken it," said Sarah.  
"The Battle Of Yishvul?" asked Claire.

Sarah nodded.

"We won that battle with flying colors!" said Abigail with enthusiasm.

Sarah's eyes narrowed.

"Van's mother was stationed there while she was pregnant with Van's second sister Bethany," she said.  
"She got out didn't she? I still see her in the R&A department," said Kyle.

Sarah's eyes narrowed even more.

"Van's sister Farah was also there and Captain Maxter ordered an orbital strike on the compound," said Sarah.

Kyle's eyes widened and Selina immediately put a hand on her mouth.

"Though Sarah and Farah survived, Bethany was still born and because of Sarah's injuries, she was inches from death when she came into the world...Farah also lost her boyfriend along with her entire research team from the resulting strike," said Sarah.  
"You mean to tell me that Captain Maxter ordered the strike knowing that the compound had his family inside of it?" asked Corey.  
"He believed it was the only way to keep the Covenant from acquiring all of their plans for technology so he destroyed the compound...killing many," said Sarah.

Kyle wiped his face and put a hand on his mouth. Abigail's face noticeably softened and Corey's fist clenched as he looked down at the floor. Selina looked away as Rick put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Even Claire showed emotion as her eyes narrowed and Crystal's face immediately became filled with guilt.

"I can't believe I asked him about that bastard..." said Crystal.

Sarah shut off the hologram and turned on the lights.

"That's why Van doesn't even want to hear his name being called; he's completely ashamed of having him for a father and every time he looks at him, he has bad memories," said Sarah.

She went on to explain the entire experience.

* * *

**One Year Ago- Lexton Base, Noveria**

_"How's she doing?" I asked._

_Van held his sister's hand tightly as she continued to breathe through the mask._

_"She's suffered lacerations from the debris sent flying in addition to severe trauma by the explosion, she'll be fine but she has to spend a long time her for rehabilitation and also to ensure no permanent damage was done," said the doctor._

_I nodded as he left before joining Van, sitting beside him and putting my hand on his shoulder. In all my days, I had never seen him shed tears and she admitted to herself that would never want to see it again. To her left laid Dr. Maxter, one of the most brilliant scientists to grace the department. She was still unconscious after having passed out from blood loss resulting from the still born baby._

_"V...V...V...an..."_

_He immediately looked up to his sister._

_"How do you feel Farah? Can I get you anything?" he asked._

_His voice cracking was one of the most heart-breaking things Sarah had ever heard._

_"H...H...H...ow's...Mom...?" she asked._

_His eyes narrowed as tears continued to stream down his face. Her increased breathing that she was beginning to regain consciousness properly and the drugs were wearing off. She sat up and looked at her mother before taking a sharp breath._

_"B...Beth...she's ok right?" she asked._

_Van's grip visibly tightened on her hand as he buried his face into the sheets. Farah immediately began to rub his head, realizing what happened once she noticed her mother passed out and the blood soaked sheets._

_"Roger didn't make it either...and neither did Radge, Vernon or Yuki," said Van._

_Upon hearing the name Roger, Farah immediately began to break down. I put a hand on her shoulder as she dropped her face into my chest. I nodded at Van as I took his place, holding his sister while he went to check on his mother. It was at least ten minutes until Farah finally started to calm down. In all that time, Van didn't leave his mother's side for even a moment._

_"Visiting hours are up, I'll have to ask you all to come back tomorrow morning," said the doctor._

_I released Farah._

_"We'll be back tomorrow ok?" I said._

_She nodded as Van released his mother's hand and approached us. Farah immediately beckoned her brother over before giving him a deep hug._

_"They'll take good care of us...I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked._

_He nodded weakly as he kissed his sister's forehead and left with me._

* * *

_**Thirty Minutes Later- Aboard The UNSC**_ **Infinity**

_"Captain Lasky gave you the green light to stay," I said._

_Van barely nodded at me in response, still sitting in the same position he was in for the last twenty minutes. I felt compelled to talk to him but I knew it had to have been such a shock that Captain Maxter could do such a thing._

_"I'm...sorry about your family," I said softly.  
"He knew...he didn't even give them a chance to evacuate the compound...or even send in Vylon Team to get them out before he made the call," said Van._

_His voice continued to crack and I beckoned him to join me on the bed. He silently joined me as I put a hand on his shoulder._

_"If he didn't destroy the compound the Covenant would've gotten everything they researched...he had to make a call," she said.  
"No...I know he could've sent in Vylon Team because Wesley told me that he declined them permission to evacuate," said Van._

_I was astonished at this revelation; Vylon Team was another one of our best SPARTAN-IV teams and considering there were no Covenant ships apart from the few that landed to raid the compound, it would've been more than okay to allow the team to run in and attempt a rescue which likely would've ended in success._

_"He fired the strike because he didn't want to look sentimental to everyone around him...he did it to make himself look like a hero that thought ahead," said Van.  
"How can you say that about your father?" I asked.  
"Because even before this happened...he's completely ignored us," said Van._

_My eyes widened._

_"All he cares about is the glory of victory and the publicity, I'm sure he wants to serve mankind as well but he loves attention and will do just about anything to gain it," he said._

_I narrowed my eyes._

_"He almost took my family away from me...I lost my little sister and I don't have any intention of even being in the same thought as him," said Van._

_I rubbed his shoulder gently._

_"He's one of the best military leaders we have...it's going to be almost impossible to avoid him," I said._

_Van narrowed his eyes as he lay back on the bed._

_"I never want to hear his accursed name ever again," he said._

* * *

**Present Time- Sarah's Office**

"Oh man..." said Corey.

Rick's eyes shut tightly as he wiped his face out of guilt. Sarah rose to her feet.

"I know he's not the friendliest person out there...but he's been through a lot; his family is the only thing he has and after what Captain Maxter did, he nearly tried to kill him," said Sarah.

Abigail's mind immediately went to her brother who was killed back on the Invasion Of Reach. She knew exactly what it was like to lose a sibling and Crystal immediately thought of her husband.

"I know it doesn't give him much of a right to be so cold to you all...but can you just go easy on him?" asked Sarah.

Mutual agreement followed. Kyle rose to his feet.

"I'm gonna go check on him," he said.

He moved to leave until Rick stopped him.

"I'm coming with you," he said.

Upon noticing the remorse Rick felt, the entire team rose up to join them. Sarah smiled softly at them, finally glad that they were beginning to truly act like a team should: caring for their own. They left her office as she looked up at the ceiling.

_"Maybe now you can finally find someone to care about,"_ she thought to herself.

* * *

**The UNSC _Eagle's Shadow_- The Shooting Range**

Kyle entered the room to find Van practicing with a magnum, once again showcasing his nearly flawless accuracy and unreal reload speed. The team slowly entered one by one. Upon noticing them, Van immediately holstered the gun in his pants and attempted to leave until Kyle grabbed him by the shoulder. Van shook his hand off his shoulder.

"Can you stop for one second and hear us out?" growled Kyle.

Van gave him a cold stare before looking at each of the others, pausing for a moment on Rick who he still hadn't forgiven for his earlier outburst.

"Sarah told us what happened to your family..." said Corey.

Abigail walked up to him before putting a hand on his shoulder and astonishingly, pulling him into a hug.

"I know what it's like to lose family...I lost my brother on Reach and I'm so sorry for not thinking about how much this was bothering you," she said softly.

Corey smiled slightly; Abigail was still the "Demon" but even she had a motherly side to her and of all times, he knew that she wanted to help him. Crystal was the next person to approach him once Abby released him.

"I lost my husband on Reach as well...I know what you're going through and just know that if you need someone to talk to, you can always come to me," she said softly.

She too hugged the SPARTAN before stepping back with Selina taking her place.

"My father was killed by the Covenant early in the war...I too know what it's like to lose someone you love even though I didn't really know him that well," she said.

Van's eyes narrowed as she put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm here for you too," she said as she stepped back.

Claire didn't step up but was sitting on the counter beside him.

"I didn't know my parents because I was practically raised as a SPARTAN-II and I can imagine what it feels like to lose someone close to you...but realizing that your own father was the reason why? I can't imagine it...but know that I won't think less of you if you come to me; I don't have a problem in helping my teammates get back on their feet," she said.

Corey turned to her, completely astonished at her words. Up to then, Claire had barely said a word in edgewise but knew that she said this because even she knew that it must've been painful for him and the only person he could depend on was himself; Sarah could only do so much to help. Corey then stepped up.

"I don't know what the fuck he was thinking man...but just know that I've got your back if you need anything alright?" said Corey.

Rick then stepped up, causing Van's fist to instinctively clench.

"I had no idea about what he did...I also got angry because of all things in this world, I hate being made a fool out of and I definitely hate losing," he said.

He held out a hand.

"I'm sorry for that outburst back there...can we start over?" he asked.

Van eyed the man for several seconds before closing his eyes and letting out a breath. To everyone's astonishment, Van shook the man's hand.

"I guess I can't stay mad forever," he said.

Rick smiled before pulling him into a man hug which was awkwardly returned, much to everyone's amusement. It wasn't long until they began to practice at the shooting range. After several minutes, Selina approached Van's booth.

"Your accuracy is pretty impressive," she said.  
"You have perfect aim that's far better than mine," he said with a humble smile.

She raised her eyebrow.

"Do you really think I agreed when everyone asked why I'm not the marksman? You're undoubtedly the best shot we have here so I know I can't beat you in a shooting competition...at least with a long ranged rifle," he said with a smirk.

Selina laughed softly to herself and sighed inwardly, thankful that Van wasn't an arrogant narcissist about his skills.

"If you'd be willing to teach me some things I'd be more than happy to learn," he said.

She smiled at him before patting his shoulder.

"When you screw up a shot I'll be there to slap your senses back into focus," said Selina.

He chuckled softly, something no one had heard before apart from Kyle. Selina nodded as she left him to continue his practice.

* * *

**The UNSC _Eagle's Shadow_- Abigail And Crystal's Room**

"You don't mind us rooming together do you?" asked Crystal.  
"Mi casa es su casa," replied Abby with a smile.

Crystal smiled at her before setting her bags on the ground.

"I'll be back soon, gonna go see if there's a bench around so I can rig a Shotgun," said Crystal.  
"Didn't you do that at the armory back at Halberd Base?" asked Abby.  
"I don't like those benches...too complicated for me so I'm hoping there's a simpler one on board to use," she replied.

Abby rolled her eyes as she left the room. She took the time to comb her red hair and fix herself up, something she hadn't done in a few days considering the amount of training and tours she had to take even since joining Echelon Team. After twenty minutes, a knock on her door snapped her from her actions.

"It's open," she said.

To her surprise, Rick stood at the door.

"Is there ever a time when you don't make a room hotter?" asked Rick.

Abby rolled her eyes and laughed softly. Rick casually strolled into the room, once again attempting his charms on her. She proceeded to do her usual act of shooting him down but was as usual, gentle. Rick sighed upon yet another rejection.

"One day you'll give in...I know it!" he said.

Abby laughed softly before shooing him out of her room. It wasn't long before Corey passed by the door.

"Just checking in on everyone before lights out; we're heading out early tomorrow so we better get some sleep," he said.

Abby nodded at him and then noticed his gaze. He then turned away and made a sound half way between a gasp and a scoff.

"Seriously...do you rate yourself on a scale of 1-10? Every guy back at Halberd Base auto locks onto you when you walk into a room," said Corey.

She laughed again.

"Aren't you just a sweetheart?" she said childishly sticking out her tongue.

Corey chuckled before waving and leaving the room.

* * *

**The UNSC _Eagle's Shadow_- Selina And Claire's Room**

"Ready for tomorrow?" asked Selina.

Claire shrugged casually as she turned the page of the book she was reading.

"That was a nice thing you did back there...letting Van know that you have his back," said Selina.

Claire looked at her for a brief moment before shrugging again.

"It doesn't help if one of us can't focus properly so naturally I did what I could to help," she said.

Selina rolled her eyes.

"Can't you just admit to actually caring enough to want to help?" she asked.

Claire scoffed at the thought before marking the page and turning her back.

"You're gonna have to stop the lone wolf thing because as of tomorrow, we start the serious stuff," said Selina.

Claire sighed softly to herself.

"I'll try...but no promises," she said.

Selina smiled to herself as she too lay down to sleep.

* * *

**Later That Night- Van And Sarah's Room**

Sarah entered the room as quietly as she could. Much to her shock, the light turned on and she was face to face with Van who sat cross legged on the bed with his arms folded.

"Just couldn't resist telling them could you?" he asked.  
"I had to...you were getting out of control," she said.

Van rolled his eyes but much to her surprise, he smiled.

"Thank you...you helped me do what I've been trying to for years...forgive my father," he said.

Sarah looked at him in disbelief.

"You...forgave him?" she said.  
"Now he can look down from above and know that I forgive him for what he did...now comes the part where I try to fight for everything he stood for," said Van.

Sarah smiled brightly at him and much to her surprise, he rose to his feet before giving her a hug.

"Lemme guess...you showed them his biography didn't you?" he asked.

She nodded as he climbed into his bed.

"Early morning ahead of us...let's get some sleep," she said as she climbed into her own.

He nodded as he doused the lights.

"Can I ask a personal question?" she asked.  
"Sure," he replied.

She turned around and faced him, the dim lighting of the hallway being the only illumination.

"What do you think of them?" she asked.  
"Individually I assume?" he asked.

She nodded as he took a breath.

"Kyle's a good man and he's probably the wisest considering he's the oldest member of the team," he said.  
"And you seem to click with him considering the fact that he was able to pull you off of Rick..._no one_ pulls you off of anyone," she said.

Van shook his head.

"Corey's also a good man, bit of a joker but I suppose comedy should be embraced considering the kind of stuff we're going to be doing," he said.  
"You know he's got a thing for Abby right?" she asked.

Van rolled his eyes.

"Doesn't everyone? Abigail's so attractive that it makes me wonder why she just didn't choose the simple life of being a model or celebrity rather than to get unbreakable bones and shoot things for a living," he said.  
"She's like a mother though...even to me sometimes," said Sarah.

Van smiled at the thought.

"Rick's not a bad guy...he's got a bit of a competitive streak but considering he almost got thrown in jail for 25 years, I'd expect him to be the kind of guy to not accept loss very easily if any at all," he said.  
"Agreed," replied Sarah.

Sarah put her hand to her chin.

"What about Claire?" she asked.  
"Claire reminds me of myself...always alone and being the one who speaks the least but I know underneath that cold exterior likes a good heart, especially since she told me she'd be there for me despite having absolutely no reason to," he replied.

Sarah looked at him with disbelief.

"She said that?!" exclaimed Sarah.

Van nodded.

"Selina's a good person, definitely the most exotic amongst us and she's overall fun to be around...though the sexual tension between her and Rick can be cut with a knife," said Van.

Sarah looked at him with astonishment; not many people knew that Selina and Rick were engaged in..._activities_. after knowing him for years, Sarah knew that Van was an excellent judge of character and wasn't surprised that he was able to tell.

"Crystal's got a bad temper but she definitely means well...and I trust her to treat my injuries should I receive any though I'm not sure Corey or Rick agrees with me," said Van.

Sarah laughed softly at his comment.

"What about yours truly?" she asked.

Van rolled his eyes.

"You're my big sister Sarah and I don't have a friend closer than you...heck someone alive as close as you apart from Farah," said Van.

Sarah knew that Van wasn't able to spend much time with his mother considering she was the head of R&D but his sister would visit quite often and she was the only person Van would do anything for; Sarah had her limits as to what she could get him to do but Farah Maxter had none.

"You're also the one who taught me a lot of what I know...and watch over me through thick and thin and for that I thank you," he said.

Sarah smiled at him.

"You've done a lot for me too...you were always there to cheer me up whenever I had a shitty day at work and you're always so nice to me even though most of what I end up doing is making you do stuff you don't want to," she said.

Van chuckled softly.

"I'm always happy to help Sarah," he said.

Sarah then turned her back.

"Get some sleep...unless you want me to wake you up in the morning," she said.

Van grunted in disagreement.

"I don't want you spraying me with ice gel ever again," he said.

Loud laughter followed his comment until the ship became silent once more.

* * *

**Holy crap that was a majorly long update! Hope you guys enjoy!**


	8. Too Easy?

**(A/N): Hope you all enjoyed last chapter. The moment you've all be waiting for has finally arrived!**

**Echelon Team's first mission!**

**Fasten your seatbelts!**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Halo but if I did, I'd make a game based on the Sanghelli cause I think they're completely underrated and the Arbiter is a BADDASS.**

* * *

**Too Easy?**

**The UNSC _Eagle's Shadow_- Hangar  
**

_"Touchdown in 30 seconds!"_

Sarah turned to Echelon Team who had already mounted up in a Gauss Warthog and a pair of Mongoose ATVs.

"Your mission is to infiltrate the outpost and find out exactly what's going on in there," she said.  
"Yes ma'am!" they said in unison.

The hangar doors opened.

"Move out!"

Rick excitedly floored the gas pedal as the Warthog took off, taking Corey, Kyle and Selina with him. Selina decided to man the turret considering she was the best shot on the team with just about everything. Crystal revved the Mongoose and followed behind them with Claire with her. Van revved his Mongoose as Abigail clung to his back, preferring to stay on the rear with her rocket launcher. As they drove off, Sarah sighed softly to herself.

_"Good luck...all of you,"_

* * *

**Twenty Minutes Later- Outside The Covenant Outpost**

"We've got at least ten Sanghelli on patrol outside the perimeter," said Claire.

She moved her eye out of the scope of her Sniper Rifle.

"It'd probably be a bad idea to go in there guns blazing...any ideas?" asked Selina.

Kyle looked through the scope of his Battle Rifle and was silent for a few seconds before speaking up.

"Looks like there's a hangar door on the far east end of the compound and considering that about six Ghosts came outside in the past five minutes, I'd say it's a reliable way to sneak in," said Kyle.

A mutual agreement followed.

"I think Claire and I should go in first and clear them out considering we're the only ones who have silenced weapons," said Van.

Claire looked at him before nodding in agreement.

"We'll call when it's clear," said Van.

The two SPARTANs began to make their way towards the east end of the compound. They traversed the environment quickly and within minutes, they were in front of the hangar door taking cover behind a rock.

"You didn't take active camouflage did you?" asked Claire.

Van smiled at her before fading into nothing, virtually invisible to the naked eye.

"Did you?" asked Van.

She smiled as she too faded into nothing.

"Let's get this done," he said.

The SPARTANs waited for an opening until a Wraith returned from what seemed to be a patrol. A Sanghelli manning the turret on top spoke in his native language and it wasn't long before the hangar doors began to open. Slowly and efficiently, both SPARTANs made their way inside the room as they observed the action. Inside was a plethora of Covenant vehicles including two Scarabs. To the far left up a gravity lift was what seemed to be a control room with three Sanghelli on the inside. Considering that their armor was golden, they were likely the higher ranking officers and would therefore be much tougher to take down. Across the floor were Sanghelli and Grunts spread out in squads. Most of the squads seemed to be taking inventory or something similar rather than actively patrolling.

Van called to Claire but to his surprise, she completely vanished from his side despite being there mere seconds ago. He quickly radioed the rest of the team on the outside.

_"Claire's gone...I have no idea where she went,"_ said Van.  
"What's going on in there?" asked Kyle.

After several button presses, the SPARTANs were presented with the scene from Van's helmet visor. They were immediately astonished at what they saw.

"Looks like it's a vehicle factory," said Rick.  
"That can't be good...and there's two Scarabs in there so this has to be something big," said Corey._  
__"I'll try and find Claire and report in,"_ said Van.  
"Be careful," said Abigail.

The call cut off as Van quickly but silently made his way towards the control room. Taking the most pristine care with his movements and recalling his numerous stealth missions with the ODST, he managed to make it to the door. He picked up a Covenant Carbine off the rack to the left before throwing it at the door and taking cover. As he predicted, one of the Elites came outside to investigate the noise. He immediately sprang into action, grabbing him by the neck and snapping it almost immediately, using the sound muffling system present in the active camouflage to soften the snapping sound. He dragged the body behind the large rack of Carbines and drew both his combat knives from his belt before slowly making his way in. The two other Elites soon noticed that their friend still had not returned and moved to investigate. Van grabbed the one lagging furthest behind before burying both his knives into his throat, cutting off his ability to make sound with his mouth. The other Elite turned and saw the SPARTAN in the act before igniting his Energy Sword. He readied himself for a fight but much to Van's surprise, the Elite dropped dead.

Claire faded into view, her combat knife purple with the Elite's blood.

"Sorry for disappearing like that...bad habit," she said.

Van nodded as he examined the controls. Seeing nothing he understood, he radioed Rick. Much to his surprise, Rick was able to walk him through the buttons and knobs. Quickly, Echelon Team formed a plan for all of them to get inside. After rigging the control panels to immediately douse all of the lights in the room, Claire and Van moved downstairs before activating their Promethean Vision armor augmentations, allowing them to see almost clearly in the darkness. The lights doused, much to the surprise of all of the Covenant inside. Squad by squad, Claire and Van efficiently and silently took them down, using their silenced weapons to their advantage and choosing to take down the Elites with their bare hands considering the shields would allow them to withstand several shots. After dealing with all of the Covenant in the room, they opened the hangar doors, allowing the rest of Echelon Team to enter. Rick immediately set to work on the controls, quickly pulling up a map of the compound.

"We're in the hangar of what's called Restoration Base right now...I'd think that all their information would be stored here in this room in the center," he said pointing at the room.  
"I think it'd be a better idea if we split up into three groups...we can cover a hell of a lot more ground that way," said Corey.

He turned to Crystal and Selina.

"You two stay here and keep an eye on the hangar; if anything else comes in here you know what to do," said Corey.

He handed them several charges of plastic explosives.

"Place these about 200M apart so we can take out this place once we get all the data," said Corey.

The pair nodded and took the charges from him before moving to set up a perimeter. He then turned to Abigail and Van.

"You two get to the mainframe in the center of the compound, since Van can actually understand what Rick is saying when it comes to salvaging the data from the mainframe, you can set all the explosives while he does his thing," said Corey.

Abigail nodded at him before taking several of the charges and quickly leaving with Van. Corey then turned to the three remaining members.

"It's our job to get to the main security room so we can ensure no one else knows we're here," said Corey.

He turned to Rick.

"You can figure out how to shut down all security right?" asked Corey.

Rick nodded proudly as Kyle shouldered his Battle Rifle. Corey smiled to himself as he readied his Shotgun.

"Let's get this done and go home," said Corey

* * *

**Ten Minutes Later- Restoration Base Mainframe Room**

"We've arrived at the mainframe but we have company," whispered Abigail.

She turned to Van who nodded before fading out of sight. She watched closely, staying in cover as Van quickly began to pick off the Covenant in the room one by one. She had to admit she hadn't seen someone as efficient with a knife and active camouflage apart from Claire. He quickly took down the five patrolling Sanghelli while she set to work on setting the charges. After five minutes, everything seemed to be running smoothly until she found herself face to face with two Zealot class Sanghelli. They ignite both their swords before charging at her. Thinking quickly, she rolled out of the way and slid across the floor, ducking underneath one of the large racks of Covenant Beam Rifles. She quickly readied her Shotgun before turning and letting a shot off, almost instantly taking down the first Elite's shields. In a swift motion, she pulled out her pistol and fired a shot clean into the head of the unshielded Elite, killing him almost instantly. The other Elite roared in anger and charged at her but before he could lay a hand on her, he stopped abruptly as if he ran into a wall. When Abby noticed purple blood leaking out of a freshly opened wound in his chest, she breathed a sigh of relief. Van faded out of his invisibility and drew his knife from the Elite's chest, causing him to slump to the ground.

"Show off," she said rolling her eyes.  
"If I didn't he would've gotten you or at least taken your arm off because you were in no position to fire," he replied bluntly.

She found herself blushing behind her visor and she was glad that Van couldn't see beyond it; he was right that she probably couldn't have gotten the Shotgun back into place to fire in time. Van turned to the large mainframe before pulling out the device from a small compartment in his armor.

"Rick, area is clear and we're ready to start the data transfer," said Van._  
__"Good work you two, attach the device to a small socket that should be on the main console,"_ said Rick.

Van searched for the socket before successfully attaching it.

_"The download's going to take some time so you two hole up in there until it's done,"_ said Rick.  
"Copy that," said Abigail.

Van turned to Abby.

"Did you set all the charges?" he asked.  
"All but one," she said.

He motioned for her to finish her handiwork as he took up position to watch the entrance to the room, silenced DMR in hand.

_"Hopefully they don't take too long because something tells me that this mission is going a little too well,"_ thought Van to himself.

* * *

**Restoration Base- The Hallway Outside The Main Security Room**

"How has there not been any Covenant this entire way?" asked Corey.  
"Hell if I know mate," said Kyle.  
"Be on your guard...something tells me this mission is going too well for a reason," said Rick.  
"I know the feeling," said Corey.

The three SPARTANs finally made it to the entrance to the security room. Corey immediately used his Promethean Vison augmentation only to see a lot of Covenant present in the other room.

"Shit...we got a lotta company," said Corey.  
"Any ideas?" asked Rick.

Kyle looked around before spotting a ventilation shaft.

"I've got a few," said Kyle as he held up two fragmentation grenades.

He pulled the shaft cover off before climbing inside. Corey watched his teammate as he crawled through the shaft until he reached a good position over the enemy. Four Elites were grouped together talking about something in a tongue they did not understand. Kyle pulled both pins before dropping them into the room. The Elites panicked before both grenades exploded, sending them flying across the room. In the same instant, Corey and Rick breached the door with a breaching charge before opening fire on the remaining Covenant. Several Jackals opened fire with their Carbines, causing Rick's shields to go down. He immediately dove over a table and kicked it up before signalling that his shields were down. Kyle immediately jumped down from the vent and opened fire, killing three Jackals in three quick pulls of the trigger. He then rolled and joined Rick behind his shelter.

"How long till they're back up?" he asked.  
"About five seconds," said Rick.

Kyle nodded as he leaned out of cover and continued to fire, killing three more Jackals. Corey already engaged the remaining five Elites in hand to hand, killing three of them with ease. The other two realized what they were up against and ignited their Energy Swords. Corey smiled as he pulled out his own Energy Sword.

"Always wanted to fight with this thing," he said with a smile.

The two Elites charged at him but Kyle smiled to himself; everyone knew better than to try and fight Corey up close and personal. One of the Elites immediately met a fist and the other met a foot to the face. Corey spun on a single foot and thrust his sword into one of their chests, instantly causing him to go limp. The other saw his friend slide off the ignited sword, undoubtedly dead from the vicious thrust from the SPARTAN. He immediately tried to avenge but met the same fate as Corey ran him through with his sword. Amidst all the chaos, Rick and Kyle managed to finish off the remaining forces in the room as Corey blew open the door to the main console.

"Hop to it buddy," said Corey.

Rick excitedly made his way to the console and began to type frantically.

"Can you shut down all communications here?" asked Corey.  
"It's not gonna be easy...there's layers upon layers of encryption..." said Rick.

He continued to type for several seconds before he clapped once.

"Done," he said with a snicker.

Kyle rolled his eyes before placing a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Start planting the charges while I get this stuff done," said Rick.

Corey nodded and motion Kyle to follow him.

* * *

**Restoration Base- Hangar**

_"Everything alright on that end ladies?"_ asked Corey.  
"Clear so far...a few Ghosts came in but we took care of it," said Selina.  
_"Good work, we've gotten into their security room and locked off all communications; no way in hell they're gonna know we're here,"_ said Rick.  
"Good, we'll keep you posted on anything that happens," said Crystal.

The call cut off.

"Looks like we'll be outta here soon," said Selina,  
"Don't you think this is a little..._too_ easy?" asked Crystal.

Selina stopped for a moment, analyzing her words. The team indeed had tremendous success since they first arrived and began the mission but she never once thought of the possibility of things going a a little too well.

"Let's keep this area clear and leave the rest to everyone," said Selina.

Crystal nodded as she picked up her pistol and cocked it.

* * *

**Restoration Base- Security Room**

"Van, how's that download coming?" asked Kyle._  
"85 percent complete,"_ said Van  
"Good work, once it's complete we'll rendevous at the hangar," said Corey.

Communication once again ceased between the team.

"We've got company," said Claire.

Rick smiled as he did more frantic typing. The main security door immediately locked.

"Take em out Claire...quietly," said Corey.  
"Copy that," said Claire.

Kyle turned to Corey as she climbed into the ventilation shaft.

"What do you think of her?" he asked.  
"Good girl, really good looking but Abby's who I've got my eyes," said Corey.  
"Even after your tremendous number of one night stands?" asked Kyle.

Corey immediately shot him a glare. Kyle raised his hands.

"Don't worry lad, it's safe with me," said Kyle.  
"I don't know what it is about her but I just like it...a lot," said Corey.  
"I know the feeling...but don't you think she should be the one to choose?" he asked.  
"What do you mean?" asked Corey.  
"I don't think she'd give Van a hug unless she liked him...Rick is out of the question for sure but she may have something for him," said Kyle.

Corey nodded and gave a grunt of acknowledgement.

"I'm not saying you don't have a shot but you never know...not to mention I don't think he'd let her hug him unless he felt something as well," said Kyle.

Corey nodded once more; Kyle had a good point. Van wasn't a popular person amongst the female SPARTANs apart from his skills despite being one of the better looking SPARTANs. Sarah was largely the only female Van spoke to and after the encounter in her office, Corey knew that Sarah didn't have feelings for him and vice versa; they were like brother and sister from different mothers.

"I don't know but I care enough to let her choose if she even wants to," said Corey.

Kyle smiled behind his visor and put a brotherly hand on his shoulder

"Even if she doesn't work out, there's plenty of fish in the sea," said Kyle.  
"Not many fish are that hot and that baddass," said Corey.

The two men chuckled at his comment.

_"Download is complete,"_ said Van.  
"Good work, head to the hangar," said Corey._  
"Roger that,"_ said Abigai.

Rick finally stopped typing.

"I disabled communications and locked every door in the facility save for the ones we need to get out of here," said Rick.

Corey opened the door to find Claire sitting down in front of three dead Elites.

"Let's get back to the hangar," said Corey.

The four SPARTANs immediately began their trek back to the exit point...unaware of the presence following them. The figure raised a small radio before muttering something in an alien language and fading out of view to pursue it's prey.

* * *

**I've posted a new poll on my profile page! Let me know what you guys think and vote on all that apply!**


	9. The Challenges Ahead

**(A/N): Did I do okay with the action last chapter? I'm not accustomed to writing action but I gave it my best shot for you guys. I'm gonna take this opportunity to discuss the latest poll.**

**Why a poll to decide the pairings? It feels a tad selfish to just decide the couples myself so instead I'm gonna leave it up to you guys! A lot of you have already made it known who you want to hook up but I did this poll in order to test the waters for an idea and also something I've tried maybe once ever: love triangles!**

**This means that if some of the choices have an even number of votes and won't budge, I'll create a love triangle! This is mostly due to the fact that Kyle will not have a love interest due to being drastically older than everyone and the fact that a lot of you have been messaging me about who's gonna be the lucky guy to get Abby. This poll is to kind of migitate the stress and instead will let you guys decide rather than me!**

**I'm also gonna take the opportunity to announce that this story has arrived at 2,000 views! Thanks for all the support and for welcoming me into the Halo bracket of fanfiction.**

**Anyway, without further ado here comes the next chapter!**

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**EDIT: Made a few derpy errors so replaced the chapter with a corrected version. Added a little bit to explain things a little bit better.**

**EDIT 2: I screwed up the Roman Numerals...TWICE! **

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**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Halo but if I did, Marines wouldn't be utterly useless apart from auto driving.**

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**The Challenges Ahead**

**Restoration Base- Hangar**

"We all set to go?" said Corey.  
"Van and Abby aren't back yet," said Selina.

Corey's thoughts immediately locked onto the beautiful golden-haired soldier. Kyle put a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder.

"She'll be fine mate," he said.

Corey nodded as he turned to Rick who had his eyes pasted on the console map and also the security cameras he had access to here.

"Any sign of them?" asked Crystal.  
"Not yet," said Rick.

The six SPARTANs watched their surroundings carefully, ensuring nothing was there that could jeopardize their thus far perfect mission.

* * *

**Restoration Base- Main Corridor**

"Maybe it would've been a better idea if I took active camouflage...I'm just slowing us down," said Abby.

Van shook his head as he looked around.

"We can't afford to get spotted now...looks like we're taking the high road," said Van.

He tore off a ventilation shaft before gesturing to Abby. She took the hint and allowed him to boost her inside.

"Rick will give you the map so follow it to the hangar, I'll meet you there," he said.

She opened her mouth to retort but closed it with a sigh; Van didn't want to endanger her by having her constantly look out for him if they were in close proximity. Van suddenly turned around before rolling out of the way of a sword swipe. He looked up to see a Spec Ops Elite, gazing at him with rage in his eyes.

"GO! NOW!" he said.  
"Come on!" she said.

She moved back into the shaft to allow him room to come in but another Elite faded out of view and fired a fully charged Plasma Pistol shot, taking her shields down. The Elite immediately pulled out his Needle Rifle and let loose a shot at her. Abby braced herself for the impact but it never came as Van sprang forward and took the shot before he kicked the rifle out of the Elite's hands.

"I'll be fine! GO!" he said.

Abby reluctantly obeyed him, trusting that he would be able to keep his word. She hated that she wasn't able to help him but pressed on anyway, knowing that she was the one who held the detonator to destroy the base. Van drew both his knives and charged at the Elites. He managed to slice one of them across the chest but was kicked back into a wal by the other, sending his knives flying out of his hands. He then took a combat stance, much to the confusion of his enemies. The Elite holding the sword attacked but Van was prepared for his swipe. He juked to the right before grabbing the Elite's hand and thrusting the sword into his comrade. Once the life vanished from his eyes, he spun around and landed a vicious elbow strike to the Elite's face. He immediately pulled his DMR off his back before shooting the Elite squarely in the head, killing him. Van panted as he felt the pain of his broken ribs from the absolutely vicious kick from the Elite. He quickly shrugged off the pain as he began to sprint towards the Hangar. Upon reaching the final corridor, another Elite faded out of view. He prepared himself for another fight but the Elite raised his hand in peace.

"You are a friend of the one they call _"Master Chief"_ correct?" he asked.  
"Yes...but who are you?" asked Van.

"I am Thel'Vadamme, the previous Arbiter of The Covenant during the Human-Covenant War," he replied.

Van looked at him in disbelief.

"You're the leader of the Sanghelli that was freed at the end of the war?" asked Van.

The Arbiter nodded.

"It has come to my attention that you possess data from this installation's archives," he said.

Van struggled to lock out the pain of his broken ribs.

"I was undercover here as a guard captain but you completed my mission for my by taking their data, all I ask is for a copy," he said.

Van dropped to one knee, still in tremendous pain from his ribs. The Arbiter looked at him with clear concern on his face.

"Perhaps this would be better discussed aboard your ship," said The Arbiter,

He opened the Hangar doors before helping Van to his feet, throwing an arm over his shoulder and helping him cross the remaining distance.

* * *

**Restoration Base- Hangar**

"HE DID WHAT?!" said Corey.

Abby looked down at the ground as she finished informing Echelon Team of the situation.

"Why didn't he let you help him?" asked Rick.  
"My shields were down and he took the round that was meant to finish me," said Abby.

The hangar doors suddenly opened and the team saw as Van was helped by an Elite. Immediately, all weapons were on him but Van raised a hand.

"This is the one that helped John end the war," groaned Van.  
"Shit! He's hurt!" said Kyle.  
"We don't have much time, we must get out of this place before the larger patrols arrive," said The Arbiter.

Everyone nodded in agreement as they rushed Van to the Warthog. The Arbiter climbed into the turret seat, much to Selina's chagrin. The Arbiter smiled at her.

"I've much more experience than you SPARTAN, tend to your friend," he said.

Selina turned to Van as she climbed into the back seat of the Warthog. Crystal immediately began to feel around the area Van gripped. She gasped.

"He's got broken three ribs...I'm amazed they haven't punctured your lungs," said Crystal.

Rick immediately started the engine as Abby joined them in the back seat, looking deeply concerned for her teammate. She pressed the detonator.

"We've got thiry seconds to get a mile away from here or we're going up with this place," said Abby.  
"Then let's burn some rubber!" said Corey.

Echelon Team immediately peeled out of the Hangar doors only to find that The Arbiter was right about the larger patrols returning. Two Wraiths sat outside along with several Ghosts and three Banshees. The Arbiter spun around and fired at the Banshees, deeming them the most threatening targets. Kyle smiled as he aimed the Rocket Launcher he picked up from the backseat of the Warthog. He let loose two rockets in quick succession, immediately obliterating one of the Wraiths. Rick skillfully weaved onto the previous path they took as The Arbiter successfully took down two of the Banshees but the Ghosts continued in hot pursuit, firing their plasma cannons. Claire fired an incredible Sniper Rifle shot at the vulnerable fuel cell on one of the Ghosts, causing it to violently explode and the wreckage to collide into another. Rick cheered and within five seconds, the tremendous explosion signified that Restoration Base was no more. Selina soon followed suit with a well place shot, taking down the remaining Banshee. The remaining Wraith fired it's plasma mortar.

"Hang on!" said Corey.

He immediately pressed the brakes on the Mongoose and skillfully slid off the path, barely dodging the incoming plasma. The explosion was a blinding blue and the tremendous heat could be felt even through MJOLINIR Mark-VI Powered Assault Armor. The Arbiter turned his attention to the Wraith as he relentlessly fired at it, taking sheets of metal off with every shot until finally, it ceased it's movement and exploded. Three Ghosts were all that prevented Echelon Team from escaping. Corey slowed down before requesting Kyle to take the wheel. He nodded as they quickly exchanged spots, briefly causing the Mongoose to skid but Kyle quickly regained control of the vehicle. Corey then skillfully leaped from his position, dropping the empty rocket launcher off the backseat and landing right onto the front of one of the Ghosts. He gripped the front and swung his legs into the Grunt driving the vehicle, sending him rolling down the dirt path. Claire and Selina fired at the remaining two Ghosts, destroying them with perfect efficiency.

"Sweet! More souvenirs!" shouted Corey.

Kyle rolled his eyes as they continued towards the rendevous point with The _Eagle's Shadow_. Upon arriving, a quick radio call to Harold brought the massive craft to the ground. They quickly entered the Hangar as the ship oncce again took to the sky and soon, out of orbit.

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**Twenty Minutes Later- The UNSC _Eagle's Shadow_- Medical Bay**

"How's he doing?" asked Kyle.  
"He'll be fine if he rests and takes it easy for a few days, he thankfully didn't completely break his ribs and the biofoam injection was able to repair the majority of the damage," said Crystal.

Crystal looked back at him

"He's damned lucky that his ribs didn't snap like twigs and leave gaping holes in his lungs," she said.  
"How the hell did his bones break? Don't the augmentations make our bones unbreakable?" asked Selina.

Crystal shrugged.

"Those Elites must've been much stronger than the average ones...and still amazes me because he's still alive," said Crystal.

Corey's face stiffened at the thought of having biofoam injected directly into the bone. Sarah soon came out of Van's room and looked astonished to see The Arbiter. He bowed to her in respect.

"It's been a while SPARTAN," said The Arbiter.

Sarah shook his hand.

"Why don't we wait for Van to heal up before we debrief?" asked Sarah.

The Arbiter nodded in agreement as he walked off with Sarah.

"He really cares for that woman," said The Arbiter as he gestured towards Abby.  
"How do you know?" she asked.  
"I watched him protect her from the Spec Ops Kill Team," he replied.

The Arbiter then looked at Claire.

"To defy death like that to protect his teammates is something I've grown to respect in the human race...though this levels insanity considering he fought two Spec Ops operatives without dying," said The Arbiter.

Sarah too wondered how Van managed to survive the encounter; Spec Ops teams of Sanghelli were almost legendary in their efficiency and were usually sent on assassination missions or sent to protect key locations. Sarah then suddenly realized that if the team did not disable Restoration Base's security, there would've been much more than just a simple pair which could've proven disastrous.

"It seems he also cares for that one though not to as great an extent as the other," he said.

Sarah looked at him in disbelief.

"I've learned to read human behavior quite well these past years, he is the one you took as your disciple correct?" he asked.  
"Yeah...he used to be an ODST Stealth Team Leader," she said.

The Arbiter nodded.

"That explains how he was able to defeat both of them...despite their own _augmentations_," he said.  
"Augmentations?" she asked.

The Arbiter took a breath before sighing.

"There's much to discuss SPARTAN but we will do so when your apprentice has recovered," he said.

Sarah nodded as she showed The Arbiter to a guest room. He smiled.

"Thank you for your hospitality, I must ensure to return the favor someday," he said.

Sarah smiled at him.

"John would love to see you again...he's in very bad shape right now," she said.

The Arbiter looked at her with a questioning look.

"Cortana sacrificed herself to save him...he's not taking it very well," said Sarah.

His eyes narrowed and his fist clenched automatically.

"Perhaps I can help take his mind off of it once we return to your planet," he said.

Sarah nodded as she turned to leave.

"I hope so Thel...I really hope so," she said.

* * *

**Later That** **Night- The UNSC _Eagle's Shadow_- Medical** **Bay**

Abby entered the room for the third time since Van was admitted but unlike before, she came alone. Claire was astonishingly beside him, gazing out the window at the passing stars.

"Has he moved at all?" asked Abby.

Claire shook her head.

"He's been out cold the whole time," she replied.

Abby looked at him before sighing.

"He made you leave him didn't he?" asked Claire.

She nodded as Claire approached his bed.

"That's exactly why I vanished and didn't appear until the very end; he's so selfless that he'd fight the whole army himself just to keep his teammates out of the line of fire," she said.

Abby understood his reasons; he was used to leading teams of ODST and as leader, it was his job to ensure everyone made it out alive and unscathed. He would rather take the shot than to see one of his comrades die.

"He's a good kid though...the youngest of all of us but he's definitely got the most heart despite how icy he appears to be," she said.

Abby looked at Claire, astonished that she was saying such kind things about him. With an inward smile to herself, she put a hand on his cheek.

"Thanks for saving me...I won't forget it," she said.

Claire placed a book on his side table. It was titled _"White Fang"_. Claire smiled slightly as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You've got good tastes in literature, thanks for letting me borrow it," she said.

The two women then took their leave to their respective rooms.

* * *

**The UNSC _Eagle's Shadow_- Kyle, Corey And Rick's Room**

"Man...I dunno whether to call him a hero or a maniac," said Corey.

Kyle rolled his eyes.

"He just saved Abby's life...you should be thanking him," said Kyle.

Corey sighed to himself.

"He does like her," said Corey.  
"Or he's doing what he's been doing ever since the ODST days: saving the lives of his teammates at the risk of his own," said Kyle.

Corey nodded, believing Kyle's reasoning.

"He's pretty lucky though...no one fights a Spec Ops Team like that and gets away with only a few fractured ribs," said Kyle.  
"What makes you say that?" asked Corey.  
"Considering the fact that they broke our supposedly _unbreakable_ bones with a single kick, Van's very lucky to still be breathing," said Kyle.

Corey nodded once again in comprehension.

"He'd do the same for any of us...but we have to talk some sense into that head of his because that was as reckless as it was selfless," said Kyle.

Corey laughed softly.

"He's pretty good...not better than me up close and personal but he's gotta be good to survive that," said Corey.  
"There's a reason Sarah called us as the jacks-of-all-trades," said Kyle with a chuckle.

Kyle smiled to himself.

"I expect nothing less from him considering the kind of reputation he made with the ODST...but it's a tad insane to believe that he got away with just fractured ribs," said Kyle.  
"Alright can we get off this topic? Feeling a bit gay talking about him so much," said Corey.

Kyle chuckled heartily before switching the topic back to the previous one: Abigail.

"Rick definitely has it out for her though...but it's bloody hysterical whenever she shoots him down," said Kyle.

Corey chuckled at his comment as he climbed into his bed. Kyle soon did the same and not fifteen seconds later, Rick entered the room with a towel around his neck.

"Night mates," said Kyle.

Rick soon joined them in slumber.

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**The UNSC _Eagle's Shadow_- The Arbiter's Room**

The Arbiter gazed towards the passing stars, worry clear on his face.

_"This may be a challenge that even the Humans cannot face alone...I must rally my people and remind them that we still stand by them as comrades to the bitter end...I hope this team is ready for the challenges ahead,"_ thought The Arbiter.

With a few moments more of thinking, he allowed sleep to take hold of his body.

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**So I hope you all enjoyed that! Please hop onto that poll ASAP! Oh and sorry for not putting this all in the first time; I was half asleep and was overly psyched to get this up xD**


	10. All The Edges

**(A/N): Another chapter coming up in quick succession? Yep! I've been known to do that from time to time. This chapter I'm sure you're all going to enjoy because now is the time where all of your creativity pays off!**

**What do I mean by this? Find out! Oh and just in case you all didn't get the memo, I did a content update with the last chapter because I realized I made a few derpy mistakes (thanks to AbsoluteDestruction for pointing them out to me!). Haven't derped that bad since I dropped a sandwich I made last night. I absolutely suck with Roman Numerals and I'm gonna make sure to learn em for the sake of this story xD**

**Let's get this show on the road!**

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**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Halo but if I did, Cortana would have her own real body like EDI from Mass Effect 3 but real and not robotic and you can bet your ass the Chief and her would be rollin' :P**

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**EDIT: I can't believe I screwed up the Roman Numerals twice in a row. It shall not happen again!**

**EDIT 2: A requested edit by a reader. Sorry for the screw up there mate!**

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**All The Edges**

**The UNSC** _**Eagle's Shadow**_**- Van And Sarah's Room**

"Good to see you back on your feet again," said Sarah.

Van smiled at her.

"Crystal's a brilliant doctor...glad we have her here," said Van.

Sarah ruffled his hair.

"I still can't believe you managed to take out a Spec Ops Team by yourself..." she said.

"Neither can I but I had to...if I didn't Abby was done for," said Van.

Sarah nodded.

"You like her...don't you?" asked Sarah.

"...I don't know," he replied.

He then smiled to himself.

"But it's obvious you like Kyle," said Van.

Sarah's eyes widened.

"You're terrible at hiding those looks you give him Sarah," said Van.

She turned away with a blush clear on her face.

"He's a good man...I approve but if he ever hurts you, I want full permission to kill him," said Van.

Sarah laughed softly.

"I don't have time for relationships...but I appreciate the thought," she said.  
"Don't try and run away Sarah; you're only saying that because you're terrible at making the first move," said Van with a chuckle.  
"What's the deal with you, Claire and Abby then Cassanova?" said Sarah.

Van cleared his throat.

"As I said before...I have no idea because they're both beautiful and talented women," said Van.  
"Abby's better looking if you ask me," said Sarah with a chuckle.  
"And she's also being sought after by every single male SPARTAN involved with the program," said Van.

Sarah tilted her head in agreement.

"She's however not like her nickname...she's very caring," he continued.  
"So is Claire but she's got a tough exterior," said Sarah.  
"I'm well aware; I heard her talking to Abby in my room on the first night of my recovery," said Van.

He then proceeded to fill Sarah in on exactly what she said, much to Sarah's surprise.

"Looks like Claire's finally letting down those walls she put up," said Sarah.  
"Abby is also the object of Corey's affections...having feelings for her is sure to cause tension between us despite how much of a nice guy he is," said Van,

Sarah nodded; she had seen him cast Abby a few fond looks here and there though she herself didn't really seem to notice them.

"It truly doesn't make much of a difference to me; I'm not on a conquest for a woman nor am I interested in exerting a tremendous amount of effort to do so," said Van.  
"You realize you scored major points in Abby's eyes when you saved her right?" asked Sarah.

Van shrugged his shoulders.

"I'd have done the same for any of them; they are my teammates and I will protect them however I can," said Van.

He then rose to his feet.

"Don't we have a meeting with Thel'Vadam?" asked Van,

Sarah nodded as they walked toward the briefing room.

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**The UNSC** _**Eagle's Shadow**_**- Briefing Room**

"Good to see you on your feet again mate," said Kyle.

Everyone agreed with Kyle's statement as he took a seat. The Arbiter stood in front of them.

"As you all know, there was a lot of data within the mainframe of that installation," said The Arbiter.

He then pressed a few buttons as a hologram appeared, showing the picture of a Sanghelli along with a lot of text that was only readable by The Covenant.

"This data contains information on a new project this faction is attempting which is strikingly similar to your SPARTAN Program," said The Arbiter.

Echelon Team looked at him in astonishment.

"I have not been able to gather much intel and it will take time to decipher the data that you retrieved from Restoration but considering what an augmented Spec Ops operative was able to do to your friend with a single blow, it is evident that they are successful," he said.

Corey then looked at his armor in disgust.

"Any reason why we were issued the MJOLINIR Mark-VI armor instead of the better models?" asked Corey.

"Command thought it would've been a better answer to ballistic projectiles considering the bulk and such but now that I know these new Elites can break your bones even through the armor, I've already arranged for new equipment once we get back to Halberd Base," said Sarah.

Corey opened his mouth to speak but Sarah raised a hand and cut him off.

"Yes you'll get to hand pick each part," she said.

Corey snickered and clapped before rubbing his hands together.

"The MJOLINIR GEN-2 doesn't provide that much more protection in comparison to this model despite it's age," said Rick.

"True but the Mark-VI was about as covered as you could get and the fact that we're all able to move like how we do despite it's tremendous weight is nothing short of impressive so we should be able to tweak the GEN-2 to our specifications without sacrificing much," said Claire.

Everyone turned to her realizing that she of all people knew what it was like to fight with the armor. The Arbiter cleared his throat.

"I've arranged for the Ambassadors of my people to meet with us on Earth so we can discuss our future plans to combat this new threat," said The Arbiter.  
"Another team perhaps?" asked Kyle.

He nodded.

"It is a possibility but the main reason I have called you here is to inform you of an even greater threat," said The Arbiter.

He attached a small device to the console and much to everyone's shock, an all too familiar figure appeared.

"...You've got to be kidding me..." said Abby in disbelief.  
"First the renegade Covenant...then the Prometheans and now this?!" exclaimed Rick.

Claire looked at the hologram with widened eyes to see none other that the most dangerous lifeform in the galaxy: The Flood.

"The Flood has returned and I saw them first hand," said The Arbiter.  
"Where! How the hell did they survive what John put them through back on Installation 04 and the Ark!" shouted Sarah in disbelief.

The Arbiter looked down.

"We only succeeded in ending the threat on that installation...the Flood is spread throughout the galaxy and they have already created a Gravemind in the same system as my home planet," said The Arbiter.  
"So you also need our help in getting rid of that," said Corey.

The Arbiter looked down at the floor.

"It is not the Sanghelli way to request assistance from other races but at this point, my people face the possibility of extinction if this is not dealt with," he said.  
"Count me in," said Van immediately.

He rose to his feet.

"You helped save our planet, now it's time for us to do the same," he said.

Echelon Team one by one agreed with him. The Arbiter smiled at them.

"Each and every one of you have my gratitude and also my word that we will help in any possible way to combat the Prometheans," he said.

He then turned to Sarah before gesturing her to follow him. She obeyed him as she took her leave.

"Rick...can you explain the previous generations of the SPARTAN Program to me?" asked Selina.  
"Didn't you learn about it in History class?" he asked.

She shook her head as he gestured everyone to encircle him.

"It all began with the SPARTAN-I Program, better known as Project ORION," he said.

He went on to explain everything the first generation of SPARTANs had to go through, including their augmentation procedures and their side effects.

"The first generation was shut down because the candidates suffered a lot of side effects which is the reason why everyone thinks there's a disease called Boren's Syndrome," said Rick.  
"Then came the SPARTAN-II Program," said Claire.

Claire then began to recall all of her memories, including all of the augmentation procedures. Several faces stiffened at the thought of undergoing such pain.

"John is a SPARTAN-II and so is Linda," said Kyle.

Claire nodded at him. Claire also decided to inform them all on the armor models and how different they were. Rick however interrupted her.

"Our MJOLINIR GEN-2 Armor is technologically superior to the Mark-VI but Command must've thought that overall coverage and bulk in the field was what we needed for a mission like this," said Rick.  
"It's pretty damn bulky...but it does protect us more than the GEN-2," said Kyle.

Van turned to them.

"That bulk is probably what saved my lungs from my ribs," said Van.

Crystal nodded in agreement with him.

"Sarah said that they managed to make improvements to the armor so it can provide the same protection but with a heck of a lot less hassle to suit up; the Mark-V and even the Mark-VI both took notoriously long to don," said Rick.  
"Amen to that mate; took an eternity to put this on before we left," said Kyle.  
"I heard there's a ton of options for armor so this should be just as fun as picking our toys and tricking em out," said Corey.

Claire then continued her story, highlighting the SPARTAN-III Program as well.

"Their augmentation procedures were drug based like ours?" asked Abby.  
"Yeah but we had to take a whole lot of drugs to avoid side effects, I thankfully was one of the few who suffered none of the above," said Claire.  
"They evolved our augmentations to the point where there's practically no side effects," said Rick.

_"Hyperspace Jump to Earth's Orbit in 10 seconds,"_

Corey smiled.

"Home Sweet Home," he said.

* * *

**Later That Week- Echelon Team's Residential Quarters**

"The modifications we got to do were so sick!" said Corey.

He joyfully strutted about in his MJOLINIR GEN-2 Armor which had every single piece tweaked and hand picked by himself. He chose the Warrior set of armor, ensuring that it was a radiant yet smoky shade of dark grey. For his own personal enjoyment, Corey carved "The Joker" onto the back of his armor. He took a seat as Claire followed him into the room.

Unlike his simple single set of armor, Claire mixed and matched a number of different pieces. She took the notorious Deadeye helmet piece and found a liking for both the FOTUS arm and leg pieces. She however preferred to keep her shoulder piece light and sleek with the Infiltrator variant and chose her visor as the Midnight variant to give her as little of a blind spot as possible to assist with her aim. Finally, she finished her armor off with the Wetworks variant of the chest piece. All of her armor had a silver and steel trim and base color. Corey whistled at her.

"You had fun clearly," he said.

Claire rolled her eyes as she took a seat. Not fifteen seconds later, Crystal entered the room. Her armor was largely the same configuration as Corey's but she chose the older generation HAZOP helmet and chose a gunmetal grey base with a forest green finish. Right behind her came Abigail, donning the famous Enforcer armor variant. She made it unique by ensuring that the forearms were outer plated and the legs bulky to better protect them. Her armor was a very dark shade of blue. Corey could not take his eyes off of her and he was thankful that his helmet did not show where his eyes were looking.

Following Abby was Rick who everyone thus far considered to be the most mixed and matched set of armor. Rick chose the Pathfinder helmet with a red visor rather than the generic orange. His chest piece was the Orbital variant and Corey immediately rolled his eyes; leave it to Rick to put skulls on his chest. His right shoulder was the Operator variant due to him seeing how useful it could be in the field especially due to the fact that he was the vehicle specialist and was required to be able to make on the fly repairs. His left shoulder was the Raider variant simply because he believed his emblem looked better on it. The emblem was the Assassin symbol with the bloody knife red and the other black with the accompanying shield background being white. His leg armor was bulky and his forearms were twin plated for added protection. The entire set was steel based with a white finish.

"Dear god it must've taken them the whole damn week just to fill your order Rick," said Corey.  
"I dunno about you but if I'm gonna be kicking ass, I'd like to look baddass doing it," he replied.

He took a seat as Selina followed him inside with a mostly simple configuration. She chose the Wetwork helmet with the accompanying visor. She took the rather popular Recon chest variant and her right shoulder was Wetwork while her left was the Rouge variant. She chose contoured leg armor and over locking forearms. This set was a mix of olive drab and murky brown with a camo skin for a finish.

"You two probably made the scientists hate us..." sighed Corey.

Selina childishly blew a raspberry at him before sitting beside Rick. Kyle walked into the room, wearing the ODST variant armor to keep his memories of the ODST alive. This armor was ice in color.

"Back to the basics?" asked Rick.  
"The ODST was some of the best days of my life and this armor reminded me of it so naturally I went for it hook line and sinker," said Kyle.

He took a seat in a lounge chair until finally, Van entered the room. He donned the Protector armor variant and just like his ODST helmet before it, had a tribal wolf engraved on the back of it as his emblem. His armor was charcoal in color. Claire's hovered over him for a brief moment before she turned to look outside again. Kyle chuckled.

"Looking sharp there," he said.  
"Your mom is a genius Van; she came up with a lot of the improvements to the armor," said Rick.  
"So did my sister," he replied.

Rick had indeed forgotten that his sister was Dr. Maxter's assistant.

"We've gotta say thanks for all this before we head out again...and boy is this armor a hell of a lot less heavier than that old crap," said Corey.

Kyle cleared his throat.

"So how about some bonding eh?" asked Kyle.

Van joined his team in the circle as they sat down for story time. Abby decided to cook them all dinner and everyone took the chance to learn more about each of their respective pasts with recounts of previous experiences both on and off duty. Corey definitely gave the most humorous recollections while Kyle shared his much more experienced military career. Van revealed more about his time in the ODST Stealth Division while everyone else detailed fun experiences. Claire however did not participate in sharing but listened to everyone, much to everyone's chagrin.

"Come on Claire...not even one time that was awesome?" asked Corey.

Claire paused for a moment.

"Is it really that difficult to share?" asked Van.

The woman looked at him for a brief moment before taking an audible breath.

"I was a one man army back when I was still a SPARTAN-III, they sent me on missions that I would take on alone," said Claire.  
"What kind of missions?" asked Rick.  
"Assassination missions mostly," she replied.

Van smiled to himself; leave it to the UNSC to make the one who could vanish the ultimate version of a hitman.

"The experiences on the missions though...I'll leave for another time," she said.  
"She's probably right; we gotta enjoy this leave we have because once Thel'Vadam and mom finish talking we're gonna probably end up living on the _Shadow_," said Corey.  
"Two weeks of fun in the sun? I'm in," said Rick.

Corey immediately fist bumped Rick.

"I guess I can take this time to finally take that trip to the beach I've been meaning to," said Kyle.  
"Why don't we all go?" asked Selina.

Everyone seemed to be in agreement with the idea.

"Let's see if us SPARTANs get a bit of a luxury with hotels," said Rick as he cracked his knuckles and fired up his laptop.

He quickly found a hotel that was near Halberd Base and a rather great rate with military personell receiving a reduced rate called _"The Iberostar"_.

"Place seems nice enough, shall I book us rooms?" asked Rick.  
"Hell yes," said Corey.

Within seconds, Rick did as he said.

"So we're heading south for the winter," said Corey with a chuckle.  
"I just hope we don't get stared at or something..." groaned Crystal.  
"Well considering that all of us are taller than the average person and more muscular, it'll be difficult to hide," said Claire as a matter of factly.  
"It shouldn't matter; the program's for volunteers so if anything we'll be viewed as heroes," said Abby.  
"Probably," said Rick.

Corey clapped his hands.

"There was however one more thing I wanted us to discuss...our team leader," said Corey.

Everyone looked around but eventually settled on Corey. Rick was the only one who looked away, not even remotely interested in the idea. Van was the first to speak.

"As much experience as I've had leading ODST Stealth Teams, I likely would never have thought of using people's strengths as how you did back at Restoration so I whole-heartedly vote for Corey to be our leader," said Van.

He raised his hand and soon, everyone else followed with the exception of Rick who remained silent. No one seemed to notice his lack of an opinion. Corey smiled.

"If I'm ever down for the count and we need a new leader, I think Van should lead, who's with me?" he asked.

Once again the entire team raised their hands with the same exception, causing Van to smile a genuine smile but also raised his hands.

"I'm not fit to lead this team though there's a certain man here who's had probably twice the experience we do," he said.

He turned to Kyle, who looked surprised.

"Kyle's more fit to lead this team than I am so he should be your back up," said Van.

Everyone agreed once more but this time Rick rose to his feet and left the room wordlessly.

"What's his beef?" asked Selina.  
"He'll sort it out I suppose," said Kyle.

Corey then clapped his hands once again.

"Now that this is taken care of...let's go have some fun!" he said.

* * *

**So that poll is still dead heat between three couples. Still waiting for some more votes on that before continuing. I'll give it another week or so before closing up shop and working with what I have. Hope you guys are cool with that and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	11. New Bonds

**(A/N): Hello everyone! Letters back again and today I decided to hell with the week wait plan, we're jumping right back into it! After reviewing all the votes in addition to the messages you guys have been sending me concerning relationships, I've decided on all of the pairings! Thanks for the votes and such and remember, things can change so just because a pairing is set doesn't mean it's permanent :)**

**Also, I've posted another poll so get cracking on that. It's not gonna affect the story but it's more of curiosity.**

**Last but not least, a reader send me a message and asked me to correct something about his character so a content update was done, take care to read it one more time!**

**Alright without further ado! Let's get right back into it!**

* * *

**EDIT: Made a few spelling corrections.**

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Halo but if I did, Halo Wars 2 would be out and it would be freaking epic.**

* * *

**New Bonds**

**Twelve Days Later- The Iberostar,** **Beachfront**

"Sure am glad we took this vacation!" said Corey as he sipped his drink.  
"Right there with ya," said Kyle.  
"Are you two coming to play? Or do I have to spike a good one in your face to make you," said Crystal.

Corey took a large sip before putting the drink on the table beside him with a loud clank.

"That a challenge short stuff?" asked Corey.

Crystal responded with a hand beckoning him to "bring it". Corey snickered as he rose to his feet and took a spot on the sand.

"Serve me up," he said.  
"Wait for us!" said Abby.

Selina joined Crystal's side whilst Abby joined Corey's. Claire rolled her eyes as she climbed into the high chair beside the volleyball field. Kyle turned to his left to see Van with his eyes closed and laying back under the parasol.

"Not gonna get in on this?" he asked.  
"With Abby's spikes and Crystal's temper? I think I'll be fine right here," said Van.

Kyle chuckled as he held a drink out towards him. Van eyed it for a split second before taking it.

"Not trying to get me under the influence are you?" he asked.  
"Can you stop being a soldier for one minute and just live it up? You've barely said a word in edgewise since we've gotten here," said Kyle.  
"No thanks to the nasty looks Rick's been giving Corey and me," said Van.

Kyle nodded in comprehension; ever since the vote for the team leader, Rick started to be very resentful towards Corey. Though Corey always tried to be friendly and fun, Rick wouldn't have any of it. It was very well noted that Rick and Selina started to spend a lot more time together though no one expected any less considering the way he looked at her and vice versa. Kyle already knew why Rick was so resentful towards Corey; Rick definitely wanted the position of team leader more than anyone else. Though Corey wanted it, he left it up to the team to decide if he was fit for the job. Kyle however had no idea why Rick kept Van in such a low regard.

"Everyone enjoying themselves?"

Kyle turned around to see Sarah standing over Van. She was dressed in a dark orange bikini which really highlighted her curves, something not many people noticed due to the amount of time she spends in her armor.

"They're about to play volleyball, shall I get the popcorn?" asked Kyle.  
"Nice and buttery," replied Sarah.

He nodded as he rose to his feet before walking towards the vendor. Sarah sat beside Van before looking at the rest of the team who was already engaged in the game.

"Where's Rick?" she asked.  
"I'm not sure, he was here about fifteen minutes ago with Selina but he just disappeared," said Van.  
"He's not taking the vote thing very well I take it?" she asked.  
"I'd assume so," he replied.  
"Corey and him used to be such good friends but now it's like the positions have affected them," she said.  
"Not Corey, he's still the same humble idiot we all know and love," said Van.

Sarah looked at him in disbelief.

"Did you just tell a joke?" she asked.  
"I have those moments," he replied.

She ruffled his hair.

"You're finally loosening up soldier," she said.  
"Whatever," he said.  
"Not looking at Claire?" she asked.  
"Why?" he replied.  
"Because they all took off their upper layer of clothing and are now in swimwear," she said.

Van looked up before his eyes widened. Without a shred of a doubt, Abigail was stunning. Curves and contours that went on for days accompanied her decently toned body. She wore a little more than modest black bikini unlike the skimpy kind that he was used to seeing whenever he came here with his sister. He turned to Crystal who mimicked the look except hers was crimson. Selina however was still wearing shorts though her top was green. Claire also removed her top but did not remove her shorts and sported a white bikini top.

"I'm glad Corey and Abby are finally getting to know each other and for once Abby is taking him seriously," said Sarah.  
"Can you blame her? 75% of what Corey says is a joke in some shape or form," said Van shrugging.

Sarah laughed softly.

"At least things seem to be ok; I thought the whole voting thing would've really made things worse," she said.  
"Can you think of a better way to decide it?" he asked.

She shook her head after several seconds of thought.

"Popcorn with lots of butter here," said Kyle.

He placed the large bowl between the three of them. Claire blew the whistle and Crystal threw the ball into the air before hitting it to the other side. Corey smiled evilly as Abby bounced it towards him at the net. With an almost overly stylish move, he flipped into the air before spiking it down hard, causing the ball to almost instantly meet the sand, scoring the point.

"I'm so glad volleyballs have gotten tougher...if it was one of those older ones it'd be shreds by now," said Sarah.

The two men sitting with her agreed whole-heartedly as Corey began to mimic the Rick Astley dance, much to the amusement of everyone around him.

"Glad he's here to lighten the mood sometimes," said Kyle.

The game continued on for twenty minutes until finally, Abby spiked the final point which scored them the win.

"AAAAAND that's game!" said Corey.

Crystal rolled her eyes as she playfully punched him in the shoulder.

"Did you have to show off so much?" asked Abby.  
"If I'm gonna win a game of volleyball I gotta do it with SWAG!" said Corey.

Sarah turned to see Rick walking towards them.

"Where've you been?" she asked.  
"My room; had things to take care of," he replied.

The entire team sat together before Kyle volunteered to get food. Abby refused and instead fetched hot dogs to grill right on the beach. As usual, her cooking was excellent and the team sat down once again to bonding time. Claire surprisingly started to talk more about her past experiences though for the most part, none of her stories were funny but were instead informative, giving insight to just how different the SPARTAN-III program was in comparison to IV. It wasn't long before the sun went down.

"Can't believe it's been twelve days already...and we have to get back on the job tomorrow," said Crystal.  
"This break was well earned; Thel has been keeping me posted on everything from the mainframe and thus far, it looks like they really have begun an augmentation plan for their troops and it doesn't extend to just Elites, it goes all the way through to Brutes and even Jackals," said Sarah.  
"Let's take this to the room; we don't want any bystanders hearing this stuff," said Corey.

* * *

**The Iberostar- Corey's Room**

They moved into Corey's hotel room before sitting down in a circle and calling the Arbiter, causing a small blue hologram of him to appear.

"Thel, can you fill in everyone on what you've discovered?" asked Sarah.

He nodded.

"The augmentation process is called Assimilation but it's not the kind of process that endangers the lives of it's participants," began The Arbiter.

He linked the hologram to a video.

"The participants begin by ingesting some form of biologically engineered compound by the name of Fiara which is meant to put their bodies into a temporary accelerated state of healing, instantaneous regeneration as you would call it," said The Arbiter.

He then pressed a button to move to another video.

"This then prepares them for the process which seems to involve applying some form of compound into their skeletons through the use of hypodermic needles," he continued.

He clicked once more.

"This compound is then permanently integrated into the subject's marrow and every single blood cell it produces carries the compound throughout the body until it reaches the brain," said The Arbiter.  
"That's some Wolverine shit right there," said Corey.

The Arbiter cleared his throat as Corey immediately turned quiet.

"The compound poses a serious threat to the body due to it's initial entry which the immune system immediately moves to battle, the previous compound is made to prevent the subject's body from succumbing to the compound as without the regeneration, the compound would quite literally tear the subject from the inside out," said The Arbiter.

With a final click, he showed an Elite side by side with an augmented one.

"The compound within the marrow causes growth in all aspects which causes the augmented subjects to be larger than their usual counterparts," he began.  
"It also drastically enhances their strength due to the instant regeneration compound being present as the compound tears the muscles apart and repairs them until they reach the point where the compound no longer poses a threat to them," said The Arbiter.  
"It's like exercising for years in a matter of days," said Rick.  
"Precisely," said The Arbiter.  
"So you mean to tell me these guys are making their already elite soldiers even more elite?" asked Abby.  
"Indeed and we are not sure if there are any more benefits to the subjects apart from their drastically increased physical capabilities," said The Arbiter.

Sarah swallowed hard.

"Thank you Thel," she said.

He nodded as the call cut off.

"This isn't good...imagine an army of those things," said Corey.  
"We're going to need more SPARTANs to fight this kind of threat," said Selina.  
"Or we destroy their base of operations that houses the majority of this program," said Kyle.

Sarah shook her head.

"We have no idea where these guys are...our only course of action is to focus on helping the Sanghelli get rid of the Flood in their system," said Corey.  
"I agree," said Claire.

Van looked down.

"The Flood is the greater threat...because imagine if they managed to get a hold of the augmented Covenant," said Van.

Eyes widened at his words.

"We can't afford to let the Flood have access to them so the sooner we get rid of them the better," said Van.  
"Looks like we're paying a visit to planet Flood," said Corey.  
"Go straight for the Gravemind?" asked Kyle.  
"I doubt the Flood have taken control of some kind of super alien so it shouldn't be too difficult," said Corey.  
"Then it's settled, tomorrow we head for the Urs system," said Sarah.

She rose to her feet.

"I'll make sure the ship is ready to leave in the morning," she said.

As soon as she said that, Van discreetly elbowed Kyle in the ribs. Kyle sighed almost silently before getting up.

"I'll come with you; I'd rather sleep on the ship than here to save the walk in the morning," he said.

Sarah shrugged as he followed her out of the room, causing Van to smile to himself.

_"Don't waste the opportunity,"_

* * *

**Later That Night- Selina and Rick's Room**

Selina entered the room after taking a shower to find Rick on his laptop.

"What are you doing?" she asked.  
"Trying to understand exactly what these aliens are doing to make their soldiers damn near impossible to fight in numbers," he replied.

She approached him before placing a hand on his shoulder.

"You've been doing it everyday since we got here...can you stop working for one night and get some sleep?" she asked.

He ignored her words and continued typing.

"Why did you come back to the room and not stay with everyone at the beachfront?" she asked.  
"Does it look like I want to be around those two?" he asked.

She knew exactly which two he was talking about.

"We voted for Corey and I think he'll be a great leader," she said.  
"I understand and respect that you all voted on this but I don't think it should be him," said Rick.  
"Why not?" she asked.  
"Granted he made some good calls back at Restoration but his easy going attitude isn't the kind of thing I'd like to see order us to do things that can cost us our lives," he replied.  
"You know he cares about all of us and he wouldn't make a decision that would get us all killed right?" she said.  
"What do you think is going to happen when we get to Urs? Do you really think the Flood is as easy to take down as he makes it sound?" he asked.

She looked down at the floor and sighed.

"Point taken...but I don't understand why you're always taking every opportunity to say the word no to him," she said.

Rick scoffed as he refocused on the screen.

"Only thing worse than him is that kid Van; all he's after is attention," he said.  
"What makes you say that?" she asked.  
"Being a martyr to save Abby when he could've probably avoided the whole injury episode if she stayed and helped him? The episode with you two at the shooting range and his over-exaggerated reaction to his dad's exploits? Kid wants nothing more than attention," he continued.  
"He openly admitted that I would beat him any day...granted I'm still not over the fact that any of you could think he's better than **_I_** am but he's not an asshole," she said.

She also swallowed.

"His reaction over his father is sort of warranted though...he almost killed his entire family," said Selina.

Rick scoffed and rubbed his nose.

"Kid always tries to impress people and he doesn't listen to anyone but Sarah who I'm thoroughly convinced is his bitch behind the scenes and he did that hero shit just to impress Abby when she's refused every single person who's approached her thinking that he scored points and what does he think reacting in that sort of way will do? Get sympathy?" he continued.

Rick clenched his fist.

"And Corey thinks _he_ can lead the team in his absence? That's a sick joke," he said.  
"What about Kyle?" she asked.  
"Kyle's in my opinion the only one fit to lead this team besides me; he's the oldest out of all of us and also the most experienced so if there's anyone who knows what it's like to take on missions it'd be him," said Rick.  
"But he's not better than you..." said Selina in a condescending tone.

Rick looked at her.

"Considering the fact that I'm the best brain wise and that I'm more than able to handle myself as well as take care of the team, I damn well should be," said Rick.

Selina looked away.

"That damn kid needs to grow up and work as a teammate and not be some loner emo crybaby who does shit for attention," he continued.  
"Enough," she said.

Selina reached over his shoulder and held the "Ctrl" button and pressed a combination of buttons, causing all of his work to save and the computer to immediately shut off. Rick sighed loudly.

"Take a break," she said again.

He turned around to look at her. She took his hand before leading him to the bed.

"Just relax..." she whispered.

It wasn't long before Rick found himself repeating his previous actions and taking Selina into his bed.

* * *

**Van's Room**

"Got a minute?"

Van nodded as Corey came in.

"I wanted to talk to you earlier but didn't get a chance to," said Corey.  
"What's on your mind?" he asked.

Corey looked down for a moment before taking a breath.

"Do you really think I'm fit to lead this team?" he asked.  
"Why do you say that? Especially since I was the one who said it initially," said Van.  
"Because now that I think about it...I'm gonna be hold all seven of your lives in my hands with my plans...and well, I don't want to do something I know I'll regret," said Corey.

Van sat up from his bed.

"That's the very same mindset I had going into the ODST and being promoted to the Stealth Team Leader; it's natural for you to feel worried but all of us trust you and we have faith that you'll lead us through it all," he said.

Corey then sighed softly before smiling.

"I appreciate that," he said.  
"Anytime," replied Van.

Corey then looked at him straight.

"There was one more thing I wanted to know," he said.

Van looked at him, noticing how serious his face became before raising a hand.

"This is about Abigail isn't it?" he asked.

Corey nodded.

"As good looking and nice as she is I had no doubt that you were into her so no Corey, I do not have an interest in her," he replied.  
"Then why did you risk your life like that to get her out of there?" he asked.  
"I'd have done the same for any of you and you should know that considering you've read my ODST record," he replied.  
"Don't lie to me...all I'm asking is if you feel something for her," he said.

Van was silent for a few seconds.

"I'm not going to lie, there was a point where I sought her attention but considering the fact that she's the most popular female SPARTAN-IV in addition to her being the _only_ thing on your mind, I dropped everything I felt because I don't want any sort of conflict between us; we're teammates to the end and the last thing I want is for us to have a disagreement because of emotions," he replied.

Corey looked at him in disbelief.

"I've noticed the fond looks you've given her and quite frankly, so has everyone else," said Van.

He took an audible breath.

"That and I consider you a friend and friends don't betray one another," said Van.

Corey suddenly relaxed at his words and relished in the rare moment that Van actually revealed how he felt.

"So I'm guessing it's been Claire?" asked Corey.

Van looked away, folding his arms and appearing as if he had no interest in what Corey was getting at. Corey snickered to himself; he loved getting under people's skin.

"I know you've spent practically the whole time between her and Kyle," said Corey.

Van looked at him with genuine surprise.

"It's pretty hard not to notice whenever you disappear and she's nowhere to be found considering her and Abby are tight," said Corey.

Van sighed in defeat; Corey knew everything. He then put a brotherly hand on his shoulder.

"Come on man put a smile on! She's great and quite a looker too," said Corey.  
"Looks aren't the important part," said Van.  
"Yeah but it's a damn good bonus," chuckled Corey.

Van smiled at his comment.

"You've gotten her to tell us a lot more about herself and that's a good thing on both fronts," said Corey.  
"Sarah asked me to," he replied.

Corey smacked him in the forehead.

"Don't gimme that shit Romeo, you've got a thing for ghost girl over there," he said pointing back to the room across from his.

Van sighed before laughing softly.

"I guess I do..." he said.

Corey chuckled loudly.

"Well I'll be honest too; I'd like nothing more than Abby and me to hook up but you know the score with women nowadays," he began.

Van took a breath.

"Pain in the ass to get through to,"

Both men chuckled upon saying the line in unison.

"You're not bad Van," said Corey.  
"Guess not all your jokes are terrible," said Van.

Corey raised his hands.

"Haters gonna hate but still...you're not the same kid I met a few weeks ago," said Corey.  
"Can't say the same but I'm sure no one else wants you any other way," said Van.

Corey held out a fist and much to his surprise, Van humored him and bumped it.

"I'm gonna attempt with Abby and you're gonna do the same with ghost girl," said Corey.

Van looked at him in disbelief and before he could retort, Corey put him in a headlock and dragged him outside.

* * *

**Several Minutes Later- Claire's Room**

She turned to the door once she heard several knocks.

"Come in," she said.

To her surprise, Van entered the room.

"Hey," he began.

Claire nodded at him as she put the book she was reading down.

"Something on your mind?" she asked.  
"You could say that," he said.

He sat on the lounge chair across from the bed she lay on.

"You know I don't mind talking about anything," she said.  
"Except the guys that stared at you all the time you went outside," he said.

She rolled her eyes as Van snickered subtly.

"Hate perverts...so useless," she said.

The night went by slowly as Van inquired about her experience at the hotel. Claire also wasn't around the others that much but for the last three days, she decided to join them and much to everyone's surprise, had fun. The first nine days were spent reading in her room and leaving only to eat and have an occasional drink. However, Van ensured to spend time with her, acting upon his interest in learning about her past in addition to herself. He had no idea how Sarah who had known her since she first joined the SPARTAN-IV Program and even before that wasn't able to get through to her but he was in a a little less than a month of time together. Though there were times they were in the same sharpshooting training sessions at Halberd Base, not much interaction took place between them and considering she was a ghost even then, he rarely saw her otherwise.

"You came in here to ask me how I've been enjoying my vacation?" she asked.  
"Is that so difficult to believe?" he asked.

Claire moved to the edge of the bed and faced him.

"Yes because you're hiding something," she said.

She looked at his face, scanning it for signs of weakness just as she was trained to for all those years. Much to her surprise, she noticed a faint blush.

"Corey put you up to this didn't he?" she asked.  
"...I would've done it regardless, he just had a rather..._brotherly_ way of giving me an incentive," he said.

Much to his surprise, she laughed softly.

"I know; I heard the shuffling outside," she said.

Van sighed.

"I know you have..._issues_ with emotions," he said.

She remained silent, looking at him in disbelief.

"I understand and respect that but...I've been thinking a lot lately," he began.

He took an audible breath and swallowed audibly.

"I know you probably think my attention is on Abigail...but in actuality it's always been on you," he said.

She eyed him, noting how uncharacteristically nervous he was.

"I suppose what I'm trying to say is that...I'd like to get to know you...more than I do now," he said.

Van took a deep breath, suddenly feeling light-headed and warm in complete contrast to the cold room.

"It's a little soon to say those three words...but I definitely feel something real for you," he choked.

With a final deep breath to get much needed oxygen to his overloaded brain and racing heart, he made direct eye contact with her.

"I...really like you Claire," he said.

Claire looked at him in disbelief. There was a short pause in which Van attempted desperately to regain control of his racing heart with his eyes shut tightly.

"Van?" she replied.

He looked up only to receive a kiss on his cheek and to see a blush on her face. Van was astonished at how heart-meltingly beautiful she looked whenever she was in a vulnerable state. Her crimson hair hid some of her face from his view but her grey eyes were all he needed to tell what she was feeling and when one is trying to get to know Claire, one had to be able to read her eyes due to her lack of words. She wasn't smiling but the look in her eyes told him that she was in no way refusing his words.

"You...you're annoying," she said.

He felt his heart crack but when she looked into his eyes, he suddenly froze into place.

"You've been trying hard to get me to be open to everyone else on the team...I admire that and you did it not because you thought of how much more effective we would be...but because you actually cared enough to want me to let down my walls," she said.  
"You've told me the stories...but I don't think that's reason enough to hid who you are because who you are is beautiful," he said solemnly.

Her face turned red as she flicked him hard in the forehead but to his surprise, she smiled at him.

"You have a chance here...you've earned it but don't screw it up; don't make me regret...feeling this way about you," she warned.

Her voice betrayed her mindset and he knew it was still in her nature to be threatening; it was her defense mechanism. He gathered his courage and proceeded to place on kiss on her cheek, much to her surprise. He then turned to leave but much to his astonishment, she grabbed his hand before pressing her lips to his. After a minutes of racing hearts and an unknown million volts of electricity surging through both their bodies, he moved away. He held her in a deep embrace.

"I won't...I promise," was his solemn reply.

* * *

**Abigail's Room**

Several knocks broke Abigail from her packing.

"It's open," she said.

Corey walked in.

"Saddling up already?" he asked.  
"You know how much I hate early mornings so I figure if I do this now, I'll be a hell of a lot less grumpy," she said.  
"Guess that's the one thing about the SPARTAN life you hate so much huh?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes.

"Not my fault sleep is so good," she replied shrugging.

Corey chuckled as he shut the door and took a seat on her bed.

"Got a minute?" he asked.  
"Sure," she replied.

He took a breath.

"I wanted to ask you something...but I dunno how to do it without making it sound weird," he said.  
"Weird is usually funny in your case so go ahead and fire away," she said with a chuckle.

Corey shrugged.

"How bout after we get through with this mission we hit a club when we get back?" he asked.  
"Of course you'd be a club person," she said rolling her eyes.  
"Hey! It's pretty damn fun to be able to dance in front of everyone when you're half drunk," he said.  
"Lemme guess...Gangnam Style?" she asked.  
"As old as that song is I'd still dance my ass off to it!" he said.

He immediately started dancing, causing her to laugh.

"You're such an idiot...and yes, I'd like that," she said.

Corey looked at her in utter disbelief.

"Whoa...that was easy," he said.  
"What do you mean?" she asked.  
"I mean asking you out..." he began.

He took a breath.

"You've shot down every single guy that's asked you out and somehow I'm the one exception? What sort of evil scheme do you have in your head there?" he asked narrowing his eyes.

Abby started to laugh hysterically.

"I actually told Van yes because he asked me if I'd like to meet his sister on his next visit so that doesn't count," she said.

Corey gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. Abby approached him slowly.

"But he also told me how much you talk to him and Kyle about me...Kyle also told me how worried you were when Van and I were gone at Restoration," she said.

Corey looked away, feeling completely embarrassed and vulnerable.

"That's...one of the sweetest things I've ever heard..." she said.

Corey then switched the topic.

"What did you tell him when he asked you that?" he asked.  
"I said yes but then he made me promise him something," she said.  
"What's that?" he asked.  
"That I would never think of him as anything more than a brother," she said.  
"Why?" said Corey with his eyes narrowed and his arms now folded.

Abigail shook her head.

"Isn't it obvious?..." she said.

Before Corey could retort, the golden-haired soldier pressed her lips to his cheek.

"Because he knew that you're the only one I'd give that chance to," she said.

The moment those words left her lips, Corey pulled her in and kissed her deeply. After several heated minutes, he pulled away.

"I've been wanting to do that since the first day I looked at you..." he said.  
"One warning..." she said.

He looked at her with confusion in his eyes.

"Don't screw this up...it took a lot of thinking to consider this...make me regret it and you're not going to like it," she said with a stern look.

Corey nodded.

"You got it," he said.

* * *

**Well that was pretty difficult. Hopefully I hit the nail on the head with everything here. Oh announcement time!**

**I did a little thinking and I decided to accept replacements for all characters now. I'll do a roster update soon to give you guys the current roster and who still needs a replacement and don't worry, they'll all make appearances soon. In addition, I'd like you guys to start thinking of Sanghelli because...YEP you guessed it, we're creating a team of them as well!**

**I took a bit of inspiration from Halo 2 and I decided to devote a few chapters to the Sanghelli Strike Team that you guys will be creating. I won't be contributing to this so this entire team is made up by you guys!**

**Follow the same format as before but adjust it to suit the fact that they are Sanghelli rather than UNSC.**

**Hope you guys enjoyed it and I'll see you next time.**


	12. The Planet Of Death

**(A/N): Sorry for the lack of update but I had a ton of problems I had to deal with. My dog who's been at my side for 14 years has passed away which put me under a lot of stress and it didn't help that school started to kick me in the face as well.**

**Anyway, I'm back now and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

**Shout out to my mate and fellow writer zipscool. Thanks for the props mate!**

**This chapter is dedicated to Malon, my Pekingese who's helped me through more hurdles than I can count and been there for me whenever I needed her. Rest In Peace my dear old friend.**

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Halo but if I did, Master Chief would get his own version of MJOLINIR GEN-2 Armor.**

* * *

**The Planet Of Death**

**The UNSC _Eagle's Shadow_- Gym**

"Not bad kid but you got a lot to learn,"  
"Isn't that the point of this?"

Corey chuckled as he helped Van to his feet after yet again besting him in a friendly sparring match.

"Thanks for the talk the other night man...really helped me out," said Corey.  
"Likewise," replied Van.

Corey glanced toward the treadmills to see Abby and Claire still hard at work running, each with a music player drowning out the world around them. Corey couldn't help but look at the golden-haired soldier he now called his "main squeeze". She wore a traditional sports top with slightly more than modest shorts that revealed enough of her glorious thighs to make most men focus on her. Next to her, Claire was virtually identical in her focus though she seemed to be going at a faster pace than her teammate. Van took pleasure in looking at her; he managed to convince her to be a little more open with everyone and much to everyone's delight, she began to train avidly with them.

"So how's ghost girl been?" asked Corey.  
"Isn't that supposed to be confidential?" asked Van.

Corey chuckled.

"Just wondering how it's working for you man," remarked Corey with a shrug.

It was roughly a week since Echelon Team returned to space. They awaited the arrival of Thel'Vadam before setting off towards Sanghelios to pick up the selected team of Elites that would work with them in taking down the Flood in the Urs System. Thel decided to remain on Earth to help decipher the Covenant codes before setting off deciding it was for the better that he took a week to finish that to allow the UNSC to prepare defense forces. Van immediately thought back to the memories of John seeing Thel'Vadam again. For the entire week, it was well known around Halberd Base that John was continuing to degenerate and lose more and more of his mind over the loss of Cortana. Everyone was for the most part glad to see the Chief back on his feet and returning to active duty.

"I'm glad that Thel helped John get his mind off of everything," said Van.

Corey rolled his eyes, much to Van's surprise.

"Something wrong?" asked Van.  
"Not holding John on that kind of pedestal," said Corey.  
"Because of what happened to Cortana?" asked Van.

Corey looked at him, astonished at him being able to deduce the reason.

"You don't look like the type who respects someone who leaves another behind," said Van.

Corey nodded as Van put a hand on his shoulder.

"With a reputation as legendary as his, I seriously doubt that he would leave Cortana like that unless he had no alternative," said Van.

Corey nodded as Van stepped off the floor before turning to leave.

"Where you going?" he asked.  
"Getting some sleep...haven't gotten much in the past few days," he replied.  
"Why?" asked Corey.

Van's eyes narrowed.

"My sister's sick," he replied.

Corey's eyes widened.

"What's going on?" asked Corey.  
"The doctors aren't sure what's going on...she's been in bed for the last four days," said Van.  
"Is that why you disappeared for that time?" he asked.

Van nodded.

"So ghost girl followed you?" asked Corey.  
"She came to meet her once but apart from that I was at home taking care of her," he replied.  
"How's your mom?" he asked.

Van nodded, indicating that she was doing just fine. He turned to leave.

"Get some rest man...you look like crap," said Corey.

* * *

**Several Hours Later- Van's Room**

Claire entered the room after knocking several times with no response. To her surprise, she found Van fast asleep. She quietly approached him before gently rubbing his cheek, causing him to stir.

"Thel's here, Sarah sent me to get you," she said.

He nodded before rising from the sheets, showing his shirtless body. His eyes were heavy and red showing just how little rest he had gotten in the past few days. She caught a glimpse of his immensely toned body. It wasn't large in comparison to Corey or Rick's but he made up for size with overall tone; she could plainly see that he had an eight pack and a well built chest, something that ordinarily didn't show behind any clothing he wore. She turned away shyly, feeling a gentle heat build in her cheeks. Almost as if he sensed her discomfort, he stepped into the bathroom before dressing himself appropriately.

"Sorry about that," he said.  
"It's ok...shall we go?" she asked.

He nodded but as he stepped out to leave, Claire's hand shot out and grabbed his, freezing him in his tracks.

"You still haven't been sleeping," she said.  
"I'm trying but it's not working and there's no way I'm turning to those enhanced drugs that only work on us SPARTANs," he replied.

Much to his surprise, she moved closer and placed a hand on his cheek. He closed his eyes before turning away.

"You're not going to be very useful to the team in this state," she said.  
"I wish I could help that but you know how much she means to me," he replied.

She looked at his face, noticing it was no longer devoid of emotion but was replaced with clear worry.

"She hasn't improved?" she asked.

Van shook his head slowly before she pulled him into a reassuring embrace.

"She'll be fine; her mother is one of the most brilliant minds alive in the UNSC," she said.  
"Fenrir died yesterday too...so that didn't really do anything to help," said Van.  
"The wolf hybrid her boyfriend bred for her?" asked Claire.

Van nodded.

"It seems no matter how much I try to help you always have some horrible event to add to the pile," said Claire.

Van looked away feeling disgusted; his life hadn't really been going for the better and Claire was probably the only saving grace he had besides his mother. The loss of Fenrir really hurt him as well; the dog was a valued friend who had saved him on more than one occasion during hunting trips.

"But I'll be here for you...whenever you need me," she whispered.

Van looked at her, very much appreciative of her words. He smiled slightly.

"Thanks...I'll do my best to come up with some good ones," he said.

Much to his surprise, she gently kissed him. They walked out of the room, him holding her hand and leading the way much to both her chagrin and joy.

"I'm going to start staying in here at night," she said.  
"Why?" he asked.  
"To make sure you fall asleep because if you don't, I'm going to knock you out so you'll have no choice but to," she replied with her own version of an evil smile.

* * *

**The UNSC _Eagle's Shadow_- Rick's Room**

"Thel's here," said Selina.

Rick rolled his eyes and shoved a pillow over his face as she closed her phone.

"We have to go to the briefing room now," she said.  
"I'm really not in the mood to hear this guy tell us that we need to wait for his lackeys to get here so we can take care of something I'd rather us do ourselves," he replied.  
"You're not open to the fact of having them work alongside us?" she asked.  
"I appreciate the fact that they're nice enough to want to send backup but honestly we're the best of the best for a reason...that and I still don't trust them," he replied.

Selina rolled her eyes.

"You realize how stupid you sound don't you?" she asked.  
"I'm being realistic; aliens are aliens, Thel is different because he actually helped John but I don't know any other name that's significant," said Rick.

He rose from the bed before clothing himself appropriately.

"Let's get this over with," he said.

* * *

**The UNSC _Eagle's Shadow_- Briefing Room**

"We've managed to decipher all of the data you retrieved from the base so we now know exactly what their program consists of," said Thel.  
"What about the planet?" asked Corey.  
"The council has not agreed to supply the team as promised as none of the candidates have completed their training," he replied.  
"What if we had someone with experience against the Flood?" asked Sarah.

Thel smiled.

"Which is precisely the reason I personally assembled a team of volunteers myself," he replied.  
"Where are they?" asked Crystal.  
"They are at a small outpost we have managed to establish on the planet and await our arrival," replied Thel.  
"Good so that's our next stop," said Abby.

He nodded.

"I also asked a friend to accompany us," he said.

Much to everyone's surprise, the doors opened to reveal none other than The Master Chief.

"He and I have fought the Flood before and we thought it best that we accompany you on this mission," said Thel.

Corey looked at him with distaste but no one seemed to notice it. Kyle immediately lit up upon sight of the legendary commando.

"You kids have a lot to learn about fighting The Flood," said Sarah.

The Chief pulled up a chair before sitting.

"Here's a crash course in Flood killing," he said.

Sarah pressed a button on the remote in her hand to bring up a picture of a Flood Infection Form.

"That little thing is the most feared organism in the galaxy?" asked Crystal.  
"This small thing as you call it is capable of wiping out an entire species on it's own," said Thel.  
"These are the most basic form of the Flood, they attack is large numbers and will attempt to kill their target before infecting and reanimating the corpse," said The Chief.

Sarah clicked again.

"They are however very fragile and the standard issue shields are more than capable of withstanding an assault from several of them but they self-destruct which can eventually weaken the shields until finally, they get at your flesh which is something you **DO NOT** want," said The Chief.  
"So the key to surviving is to not let our shields get depleted?"asked Claire.  
"Precisely but that is much easier said than done when they have their infected hosts attacking you as well," said Thel.  
"The Flood will always have the numbers advantage so the only thing we can do is destroy the Gravemind which is the collective intelligence of the generation of Flood, once we take out the Gravemind, the rest of the infection will die out quickly," said The Chief.  
"...But that's also easier said than done," said Van.  
"The Gravemind is extremely intelligent and it guarded by an uncountable number of Flood which brings us to the greatest threat the Flood have," said Sarah.

She clicked once more to reveal the Pure Form.

"This is the Pure Form, it is capable of shape-shifting from a creature that fires razor sharp needles from it's back to a hulking beast that can end you in a single blow," said Thel.  
"You do not engage this form alone; it will win and you cannot stop it," said The Chief.  
"I take it there will be an uncountable number of these things," said Selina.  
"The Flood create these forms to back up whatever they've already infected so expect them to form the backbone of their forces," said Thel.  
"The best chance you have is to destroy the brain and the infection form present in the body, otherwise you **DO NOT** engage," said The Chief.

His tone was deathly serious.

"They attacked Earth didn't they," said Corey.

The Chief nodded.

"I saw many people get infected...I'll be damned before I see it happen again," said The Chief.

Thel leaned over the table.

"We'll rendezvous with the team tomorrow morning as they are still in transit from Sanghelios, I suggest getting some rest," he said.

The Chief then looked at Sarah.

"The best weapons you can use against the Flood are the shotgun and the SAW, everything else will do little to nothing unless you've got precise accuracy," said The Chief.

Selina and Claire smiled to themselves which caught the attention of the Chief. He smiled to himself behind his helmet.

"Dismissed, get some rest because we're in for a long day tomorrow," said Sarah.

* * *

**The Next Day- The Sanghelli Outpost**

"Thel'Vadam...it is an honor to have you here with us,"  
"At ease my brother, no formalities are necessary," said The Arbiter.

Corey smiled at the respect the other Elites had for Thel; he was roughly the equivalent of what the Chief was to the human race or more. The Elite who greeted them then gestured to follow him. After a short walk, the team was greeted by the sight of five Elites.

"This is the team you handpicked Thel?" asked Sarah.  
"They are our most capable fighters," he replied.

One of the Elite's immediately walked up to the Chief and eyed him.

"This is the one known as _The Demon_?" he asked.

Thel smiled at his comrade.

"Indeed he is young one but be warned; he is much more resilient than he appears," said Thel.  
"Voro, it's impolite to stare," said one of the others.

The one known as Voro was smaller than the rest of the team but did not lack even remotely in the muscle department. There was a large criss cross scar above his eye but apart from that sole physical difference, there was no way to distinguish him from the rest without their armor on. The one who called to him approached the Chief.

"My apologies for our comrade; he is very eager to begin our mission," he said.

The Arbiter approached him before laying a hand on his shoulder.

"A quality not often seen amongst a team whose task is so vital," he said.

The Elite bowed.

"My name is Alei'Lhenat, I am the leader of the team," he said.

Alei was definitelly one of the largest members of the team, standing at a staggering seven and a half feet tall that was backed up by a massive amount of muscle. Another Elite soon approached.

"Vaz Turian at your service," he said also with a polite bow.

Thel immediate turned around to see what seemed to be the youngest member of the team followed by an intimidatingly large female.

"I am T'kina Maxim, this is my son Thal Moram," she said,

The voice of the female sent chills down each of Echelon's members' spines.

"I'm grateful for your participation," said Thel.  
"Anything to rid our system of these abominations," she said.  
"We have a general layout of the area inside," said Alei.

The soldiers entered the building and looked towards a large deck with a gigantic hologram being projected from it.

"This outpost is one of a few uninfected parts of the planet, our scouts have indicated that the Gravemind's most likely position is two hundred miles south of this location," said Alei.  
"Sounds easy enough," said Corey.  
"It would be if they did not infect the majority of the populace of this planet, including the wildlife which is notoriously dangerous," said T'kina.

Thel looked to the floor.

"They infected the Weltids?" he asked.  
"That and virtually everything else on this planet," said Vaz.  
"Wel-what?" asked Corey.  
"A Weltid is one of the rites of passage for our males to take on during growth," said T'kina.

The desk shifted to the picture of a large creature. It stood at least ten feet tall and was very muscular. It had four claw like appendages jutting from the back of each hand and it had razor sharp teeth.

"This animal is considered to be one of the greatest accomplishments for a male to slay as it is amongst one of the most vicious beasts in the galaxy," said T'kina.  
"With a creature that massive under the control of the Gravemind...I think this mission just became three times as difficult," said Kyle.  
"This is why this planet is known as _The Planet Of Death_; not many of our warriors get through this rite of passage and many die during the hunt," said Alei.

The Chief looked outside the window.

"How quickly can we reach the location of the Gravemind?" he asked.  
"Within an hour," said T'kina.  
"The Gravemind probably knows we're here," said Claire.

The Chief nodded in agreement.

"Considering that almost all of the planet has been infected, the Gravemind probably has an uncountable number of soldiers at it's command but I have an idea that may work...but it's incredibly risky," said Alei.

He pressed a few buttons and the hologram shifted to the area where the scouts determined was the Gravemind's location.

"We create a distraction for a team to enter the cave and destroy the source of the infection," said Alei.  
"You mean we have to be bait for the majority of their forces?" asked Corey.  
"It is very risky...but there's no way we will be able to penetrate the defenses without some alleviation of the pressure," said Vaz.

Corey immediately stepped up.

"Abi and Crystal, I want you two to be a part of the insertion team," said Corey.  
"What? You expect me to go in while the rest of you fight an almost hopeless battle?" she growled.  
"You're probably the best chance we have at clearing the whole cave of them considering you're so good with all things that go boom and Crystal can patch you up if things get hairy," said Corey.  
"I agree," said Kyle.

The Chief stepped up and approached Corey.

"I suggest you take two more with you, Van and you would do well in a close quarters situation like that," said the Chief.

Van nodded as did Corey.

"The rest of you will remain with the outside forces that will draw their attention, I will take T'kina, Thal and Voro with me for the rest of the inserion team," said Thel.  
"Yes Commander," said the Elites.

Thel then turned to the Chief.

"You must keep them busy for as long as you are able; we will get it done," said Thel.  
"Count on it," said The Chief.  
"You have your orders, move out!" said Sarah.  
"Yes ma'am!" said Echelon Team.

The soldiers scrambled to their vehicles, Echelon Team taking a Pelican while the Elites took a Phantom. The operation had begun.

* * *

**Again I apologize for the long wait. Hope I didn't lose any of you all. Hope you guys enjoy this.**


	13. Cleansing The Swarm

**(A/N): My period of hiatus has made me want to make up for lost time and also for you guys.**

**All of you who are still submitting characters I'd like to announce that all main cast spots have been filled so take note that your character may make cameo appearances. In fact, I may even take your characters and put them together into another team and give them a chapter or two!**

**Thank you all for the support; I didn't expect to be welcomed back so quickly and I think I've set a personal record for most views in the least time. I checked the views on this story and it grew a staggering 1900 views between the time I posted the last chapter and this one. I can't thank you all enough for the support!**

**I'd also like to say that I have an announcement at the end of the chapter so take care to read it!**

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Halo but if I there'd be more female SPARTANs and they'd have their own team.**

* * *

**EDIT: Uploaded the wrong file for this chapter. So sorry for that! That's the last time I try to upload while half asleep. Thanks to darkarbitor for showing me tha major error!**

* * *

**Cleansing The Swarm**

_"Insertion Team in position,"_  
"Copy that! Open fire!"

A relentless hail of gunfire followed the Chief's words, pelting the main entrance of the cave. As expected, the infected creatures came pouring out of the small opening, running with a never before seen ferocity. As the Chief predicted, a numerous amount of Pure Forms ran towards them heading the pack.

"Time to have some fun," said Rick with a smile.

With the push of a button, a massive explosion blew a hole through the line of infected, hitting a Pure Form square in the torso. An unknown hundred of Infection Forms exploded from the intense heat of the Scorpion's shell. Rick then began to unload the turret, concentrating it's unforgiving hail of steel on the Pure Forms to prevent from reaching the barricade.

"You have fifteen minutes in there before they catch on at most, make it count!" shouted the Chief.  
_"Roger that!"_ replied Corey.  
"Chief! On your left!" shouted Kyle.

The supersoldier turned to left before unloading a shotgun shell into the face of the Weltid infected form. The creature swung it's massive claws at him only for him to duck out of the way and fire a second shell and kicking it away. In a swift motion, he tagged the creature with a Plasma Grenade and gave it another kick, sending it stumbling into the oncoming line of infected and exploding, destroying many more infection forms. The Chief however was not prepared for the Pure Form behind him and it struck him, sending him flying into a tree. Before it could finish him, a sniper bullet went directly through it's dome, causing it to stumble until the second went through the chest cavity, slumping it helplessly to the ground. The Chief looked up to see the sniping pair of Claire and Selina.

"Got your back," said Selina.  
"Appreciate it," replied the Chief.

The onslaught continued strong but everyone knew that if the insertion team did not accomplish their mission, the Flood would inevitably break through when they ran out of ammo.

"SPARTAN! To your right!" said Thel.

Kyle turned to see a Pure Form running at him. He quickly fired a round of his grenade launcher, causing it to stumble before he unloaded his magnum into it's head, killing it.

"Thanks!" said Kyle.  
"In the air!" shouted Selina.

The group looked towards the sky in horror as what seemed to be flying dinosaurs coming towards them.

"The Flood infected the Riein Sky Dwellers as well?!" shouted Alei.  
"Every single life form on this planet is infected...only the outpost is clean," said Vaz.

Alei growled in great rage.

"Send these abominations to the abyss where they belong!" he cried.

Within seconds, a relentless hail of plasma fire from a Wraith began to hail onto the oncoming creatures. One by one, they fell from the sky and crushed their infection form comrades but some of them seemingly understood the tactic before beginning to strafe around the fire, forcing Alei to swing the turret in a desperate attempt at getting as many as he could.

"They're learning! We must be careful!" he shouted.

One of the creatures swooped down towards Claire and Selina only for it to receive two shots directly in the head. More followed it and to the pair's surprise, they had no time to reload before the creatures were upon them. Selina quickly took out her magnum and fired at an almost automatic speed but it was to no avail as the creature grabbed her in it's talons and took her into the air.

"Selina!" shouted Rick.

Kyle immediately turned around before unloading three bursts of Battle Rifle shots into the creature's wings, causing it to spiral and fall. In it's crash course, it released Selina at a height that she safely, albeit messily landed.

"Thanks Kyle!" she shouted.  
"Get back to the barricade!" he replied.

Kyle was immediately met with an arm swing, sending him flying towards the barricade. He quickly recovered and glanced at the infected Weltid. Before he could even react, Vaz had already moved from his position and fired a relentless hail of Carbine plasma into the beasts back. It turned only to meet an Energy Sword, cleaving its head from its body. Vaz held a hand out to fallen SPARTAN before helping him up.

"Be vigilant," he said.  
"Thanks," replied Kyle.

The Sanghelli warrior nodded in approval as they moved back into the relatively safe perimeter of the barricade.

"The Deployable Shields are running low on power," said Claire.  
"These bastards have infinite ammo with those spikes," growled Rick.

Rick pulled the trigger to fire the Scorpion turret much to his surprise, it did not fire.

"Shit! Turret's jammed!" growled Rick.  
"Can you fix it?" asked Selina.

He nodded and immediately set to work.

"We won't have the use of the turret for a while," said Rick.

The Flood continued to do as their namesake as their numbers grew. With each kill, three took the place of the fallen.

The battle was beginning to look grim.

* * *

**Inside The Flood Hive**

"From the sound of things we do not have much time left," said T'Kina.  
"We're nearly there," said Thel.

Recalling his previous experience with the Chief, he followed the infection towards the source. They had encountered little resistance; the battle outside seemed to have drawn more than 90% of their numbers, a fact that worried every single member on the team. Corey looked at Abi to see worry clear on her face; she was clearly thinking about Claire and Kyle who she had become close to over the time passed.

"They'll be alright," said Corey.

Abi looked at him and nodded appreciatively.

"Thel! Above you!" shouted Thal.

A Carrier Form fell from a ledge above them.

"Everyone get to cover!" shouted Thel.

Everyone immediately ducked behind the nearest rock formation to avoid the explosion as Thel leaped to a ledge above him. The Carrier Form exploded with a tremendous force, blowing away much of the weaker rock around it and released dozens of infection forms. Van immediately threw an Incineration Grenade into their midst, destroying all of them.

"We only have two more of these left so we need to get in and get out quickly," said Van.  
"We're here,"' said Thel.

The group approached a wall of infection. The fleshy makeshift barrier was no match for Thel's Energy Sword as he cleared the way for the group to enter. To their surprise, they saw a gigantic mass of the infection with what seemed to be the head of a Pure Form sticking out of it. The mass then ejected a Pure Form but it did not move to attack.

"Why have you come?" it said.  
"You've infected this planet and we will not allow our homeworld to suffer the same fate," said Thel.  
"Do you really think you can stop us?" it asked.

The Pure Form walked in a trace of steps.

"This feeble collective is but a taste of the rest of us; we will never stop coming because we cannot be killed," it said.  
"I'm not letting this continue," said T'Kina.  
"Why? So you may continue to live only to be wiped out later? Your extinction is inevitable," it said.

Corey looked at the mass as it seemed to breath and he had to hold a gag back at the grotesque manner in which it moved. He looked to Abi and nodded as she moved to install the charges. The Pure Form moved and swung it's massive fist at her but much to everyone's surprise, Corey sprang and caught it.

"I've had enough of your shit; time to die you disgusting parasite," growled Corey.

He threw the creature over his shoulder, much to everyone's surprise.

"I'll take care of this thing! Set the charges!" he said.

The entire team moved to do so until three more Pure Forms appeared and attacked. Van found himself flying into a wall but quickly recovered before dodging another blow from the one attack him. T'Kina skillfully dodged the one coming at her as Thal unloaded his Carbine into the beast's back. Crystal tried to stick to Abi but she was separated by another Pure Form. Abi turned to help but Crystal's shouts and the sound of gunfire told her that she had to get a move on and not worry about her teammates. Thel placed his charges quickly on the center of the mass but much to his surprise, a large tentacle came out of the cave walls and grabbed him.

"Thel!" shouted Voro.

Van reacted almost instantly, leaping into the air and slamming his combat knife into the tentacle but much to his surprise, a second appendage grabbed him before throwing him through the rock to the left, leaving a large hole.

"Van!" shouted Corey.  
"Charges set!" said Abi.  
"We need to get to a safe distance!" shouted Voro.

Thel ignited his Energy Sword and sliced the tentacle, freeing himself.

"Back towards the entrance!" he shouted.  
"No need for that,"

Van peeked through the hole in the wall.

"I found a way out through here," said Van.

The team quickly scrambled through the hole until finally, they could see the light of day.

"Move move move!" shouted Corey.

Corey was then dragged to his feet by another tentacle. Abi turned around in horror as her boyfriend continued to get dragged away. Van looked at her for a split second, absorbing her worried feaures before taking a breath. He took Voro's Energy Sword before dashing towards his team leader right back through the hole.

"Van!" shouted Crystal.

Thel narrowed his eyes as he urged Crystal out of the cave along with a reluctant Abi.

* * *

**At The Barricade- Outside The Flood Cave**

"Where are Van and Corey?" demanded Selina.

Thel looked to the floor and the new worried look on Crystal's face answered the question. Claire immediately felt her heart skip a beat at the thought of Van in danger.

"We gotta get in there!" said Kyle.  
"We can't; the cave's structure began to fall apart and the charges are already set to go off," said Thal.

Claire's fist instantly clenched.

"So we're supposed to sit here while our comrades die? Fuck that shit," said Rick.  
"Got that right," said Kyle.

Thel immediately shoved the two advancing SPARTAN's back.

"We cannot assist them; The Gravemind has grown enough that it can spawn Pure Forms from it's body instantly; we'd only make their escape more difficult," said Thel.

Kyle clenched his fists at the thought of his friends being killed at the hands of the Gravemind. Much to everyone's surprise, The Chief joined them.

"We hold here until the charges explode, if they don't come back then we have no choice but to assume the worst," he said.

Abi reluctantly agreed with him as they quickly made their way back to the barricade, rejoining the remaining Sanghelli.

"Our ammo runs low Commander, " said Alei.

The Chief turned to see the advancing Flood.

"Then we can't stay here for long," he said.

He held up his Assault Rifle.

"Hold the line!" he shouted.  
"Yes sir!" agreed Echelon Team.

* * *

**Inside The Flood Cave- The Gravemind's Chamber**

"Van! Wake up!" said Corey.

Van stirred out of his unconscious state and rose to his feet.

"We've gotta get out of here," he said.

Van nodded in agreement as he picked up his Battle Rifle.

"We have six minutes to get out of here or we're going up with this place," said Corey.  
"Then let's go," said Van.

_"Not so fast,"_

Van and Corey immediately fell to the floor, cringing in agony.

"What's happening?" cried Corey.

_"Evolution...glorious evolution...I've infected both of you with our gift and soon, you shall both join our ranks but you're proving much more resilient that other beings I've found,"_

Van turned to see a Pure Form coming at them and immediately threw an incineration grenade into it's face before hitting it hard with his fist. It cringed and swung it's massive arm only for it to get caught by Corey. He heaved the massive creature, sending it flying through a wall, revealing sunlight.

"This way!" he said.

The two SPARTANs moved through the room only to find an uncountable number of infection forms present.

"Holy shit..." said Corey.  
"There's the exit! We've gotta move!" cried Van.

They ran towards the sunlight, dodging the oncoming infection forms by jumping to ledges out of their reach. As they finally reached the exit, the Gravemind paralyzed them with pain once more.

_"Once your transformation is complete...your fates shall be tied to mine which means if I die...you will as well,"_

Corey immediately pressed the distress signal button on his armor as he struggled to pull his comrade out of the cave. Van had already fallen to the ground, still crying out in agony.

"We're not dying here! I'm not letting us!" shouted Corey.

Despite the massive cascade of pain running throughout his body, the SPARTAN managed to pull himself and Van out of the cave before collapsing near a tree. It wasn't long before Kyle and Rick found them. Kyle immediately took Van over his shoulder and Rick, though with disdain clear in his mind, did the same for his team leader.

"Crystal! Blow the charges!" shouted Kyle.

As if on cue, a massive explosion destroyed the cave, sending the four SPARTANs flying a short distance. Kyle and Rick were unscathed but the other two men seemed to be in a deep sleep...

* * *

**Outside The Flood Cave- The Barricade**

"GRAHH!" cried Thel.

He finished yet another Pure Form with his trusty Energy Sword before immediately pulling out his Carbine and emptying the final clip into another. The Chief immediately leaped into action, punching the beast in the face before unloading a shell of his shotgun into it's dome. Thel turned to him.

"Just like old times?" said The Chief.  
"Indeed only this time we may not come out of this," said Thel.

The two soldiers fought as one, skillfully finishing many of the infected until both ran out of ammo. Thel resorted to hand to hand but found himself pinned under the massive hand of a Pure Form. The Chief launched a devastating roundhouse kick to knock it off but he too was subdued. They prepared themselves for the unforgiving hand of death until a deadly stream of blue plasma finished the one that pounced upon Thel. Alei gave out a vicious war cry as he hopped out of the now expended turret and violently slammed his Energy Sword into the form pinning The Chief. Selina fired several shots to ensure that the hulking beast stayed down.

A massive explosion broke the warriors from their battle. Claire felt a massive chill run up her spine as well as Abi.

"No word from Kyle and Rick?" asked The Chief.

The three remaining SPARTANs shook their heads. Everyone looked to see the infected fall limp to the ground as if a switch had been flicked to kill them.

"Rick! Rick do you read me!" said Selina.

There was no answer, causing Selina to worry as well.

"Their signals seemed to be blocked somehow so we can't track them by their armor signal," said Crystal.

A loud rustle alerted the group and everyone turned to see Kyle carrying Van over his shoulder.

"The explosion must've hit us hard enough for the impact to knock out our radios," said Kyle.

Claire was at Kyle's side instantly and Abi joined them.

"Where's Corey?" she asked.  
"Right behind me but he's in worse shape than Van is," said Kyle.

Rick soon came out of the brush, carrying the leader of the team who was still unresponsive.

"Let's get them back to the _Shadow_ so we can fix them up," said Crystal.

The team radioed a Phantom to pick them all up and within minutes, it arrived. The Chief looked back towards the cave.

"Something wrong?" asked Thel.  
"I just have a really bad feeling...this was too easy despite our close calls," he replied.  
"You think the Gravemind may have done the same to your comrades as the previous one did to yours?" asked Thel.  
"I don't know...but once it went up in flames it didn't bother me anymore," said The Chief.  
"All we can do is hope they are alright," said Thel.

The Chief nodded in agreement before they left on the Phantom.

* * *

**So my announcement is that I'm holding an interlude chapter. What is an interlude chapter? If you've read my Resident Evil story, you'd know that I did an ask the survivors segment where you the viewers send in questions to any of the characters that appear in the story. Well, akin to that idea is this one called Ask The SPARTANs!**

**Yes. You will all come up with questions you'd all like to ask the characters of the story (even the Chief and Thel) and I'll whip up something nice and funny. I figure it'd be a bit of fresh air considering the action heavy and emotional barrage this story has been so far. It also allows me to get feedback from you guys and hell, you're just as much of the writer as I am so why not do this?**

**Tell me what you think!**

**Wandering Letters.**


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